Both Kennesaw State University cross country teams competed in the Mountain Dew Invitational on the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida on Saturday, Sept. 29.
This is the second time KSU has participated in the Mountain Dew Invitational. The first appearance featured the men’s team finishing fifth and the women fishing sixth back in 2014.
The men’s and women’s teams both competed against schools such as Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Miami, North Florida, South Florida and Valdosta State.
The men’s team finished the 8K race in sixth place overall. For the second consecutive meet, junior transfer Paul Schupp led the team, finishing 13th overall with a time of 26:30:85.
The next teammate to cross the finish line was sophomore Derick Kinyanjui, who finished 29th with a time of 27:29:00. Following closely behind Kinyanjui was junior Derrick Hand, who finished 31st, posting a time of 27:35:78. Freshman Will Hasse crossed the line just eight seconds later. Lastly, freshman Max Warner finished with a time of 29:20.
The Lady Owls also had a competitive race Saturday against several teams in the 5K, finishing overall in eighth place.
Senior Kidan Kidane led the way for the team, finishing in 14th place with a time of 18:22.19. A minute later, freshman Bonnie McKinnon placed 36th and finished with a time of 19:23.92. Just a second after her, sophomore Caitlyn Farrell took 37th place. Finishing in 54th with a time of 19:53.51 was freshman Kaitlyn Franklin.
Both KSU teams will head to Spartanburg for the Upstate Classic, hosted by the University of South Carolina Upstate at 9 a.m Saturday, Oct. 1.
