The Kennesaw State cross country teams opened the season on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Bulldog Invitational, with both the men’s and women’s teams coming away with third-place finishes.
The meet was hosted by the University of Georgia and marked the 32nd all-time season of cross country for KSU.
Junior Katie Meyer led the Owls in the women’s 4K with a time of 14 minutes and six seconds, finishing 16th out of 39 runners. Last season, Meyer finished third in the season opening meet and had the second-best time for KSU during the NCAA regionals.
Freshman Sarah Hendrick posted a time of 14:35.5 to finish 22nd, while senior Rachel VanAmburgh crossed the line right after Hendrick in 23rd with a time of 14:36.3.
In the men’s 6K, sophomore Koi Williams paced the Owls, finishing 12th out of 46 runners with a time of 18:53.8. Williams had the best time for KSU during last season’s Atlantic Sun Conference Championships.
Freshman Mekhi Williams was the second Owl to cross the line, finishing in 19:03.2. Freshman Austin Muse secured 42nd with a time of 20:26.3.
The Bulldog Invitational marked the first meet under new head coach Adam Bray. Bray came from Georgia Tech where he spent the fall of 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach with the cross country team.
“We know this is a young team but I thought both the men and women competed really well overall,” Bray said. “For this first meet, I wanted to see how we would stack up against more established programs … I am proud of how our teams took the fight to those other teams and raced with no fear.”
This season, the Owls will be adding a total of six new runners between both teams. The teams will still have many returning runners, allowing the potential to place higher in future meets.
Up next, the men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Vanderbilt Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14.
