MADISON, Wis. -- The Southern Utah Thunderbird men's and women's cross country teams faced tough competition at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational this weekend. The women finished 14th while the No. 14 ranked men's team finished 10th out of 33 teams.

The women raced against nationally ranked teams such as No. 1 New Mexico, No. 2 Colorado and No. 3 Arkansas. This was the SUU women's first time competing at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

Angie Nickerson was the first to cross the finish line for the T-Birds. Nickerson finished 28th in the race with a time of 20:21.1. She was followed by Maddy Kauffman in 52nd place and Madison Fruchey in 56th place. Alison Pray finished 76th in the competition
followed by Julieta Navarrete-Lamas who finished 126th with a time of 21:28.6.

The women finished 14th in the competition.

The men's team finished the race ahead of nationally ranked teams. No. 6 Alabama and No. 13 Washington State both fell short to the Thunderbirds.

The men finished the race 10th overall. Christian Ricketts crossed the finish line first for the Thunderbirds. Ricketts clocked in a time of 23:42.2 placing 21st in the race.

Aidan Reed followed Ricketts with a time of 23:49.1 placing 27th. Nate Osterstock was the third T-Bird to finish the race placing 51st. Sean Newcomb finished 115th for the Thunderbirds with a time of 24:33.1 tracked by George Espino who placed 128th.

"I am really proud to see what these athletes have accomplished today, especially since this is the women's first time running on this course," commented head coach Eric Houle. "We finished ahead of some real powerhouses which is really great for this program."

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Head to www.suutbirds.com for all Thunderbird athletics news.