CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah cross country program topped the leaderboards at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 18, locking up a first-place finish for the men's team and third place for the women. The men scored only 68 points in a crowded field of 18 teams, and the women scored 123 in a field of 16.
Coach Eric Houle said:
"There were excellent performances across the board from all our athletes, including both the men's and women's teams. The place for the teams really helps a lot going into the WAC championships. I'm excited about how these young athletes are developing."
Men's Recap
The men outcompeted the opposition in their 8K, compiling a remarkably low 68 points for first in a field of 18 teams. The effort boosted them past local runner-ups like UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State.
Junior Logan Peel remained the program's top performer, earning seventh with a 23:55.7. The next three Thunderbirds crossed the line soon after in a competitive cluster. Freshman Amit Cohen clocked in at 24:22.5 for 14th place, senior Garrison Shindler snatched 19th with a 24:27.9, and freshman Jacob Jones raced 24:28.3 for 20th.
Closing out the top-tier Southern Utah score, freshman Tyler Saunders finished 41st with a time of 24:53.0.
Team Results:
7th - Logan Peel - 23:55.7
14th - Amit Cohen - 24:22.5
19th - Garrison Shindler - 24:27.9
20th - Jacob Jones - 24:28.3
41st - Tyler Saunders - 24:53.0
49th - Ezra Nelson - 24:56.5
50th - Todd Yeates - 24:57.5
53rd - Cory Bunker - 25:00.7
Women's Recap
Finishing behind only UC Santa Barbara and the hosting Santa Clara Broncos, the Thunderbirds women's team tallied 123 points for third. Despite being down a finisher compared to most teams' seven-racer lineup, SUU still matched up well with their foes in California.
Sophomore standout Audrey Hales resurfaced as Southern Utah's leading racer, taking seventh with a time of 21:03.1. Close behind, freshman Nixie Killpack finished 11th with a 21:07.2. Freshman Aspen Hacker's 21:11.6 granted her 15th.
Southern Utah suffered a lengthy gap before their next scorer, but senior Sammi Stewart pulled through in 42nd with a time of 21:44.0. At 22:06.7, junior Taylor Jorgensen landed in 62nd place.
Team Results:
7th - Audrey Hales - 21:03.1
11th - Nixie Killpack - 21:07.2
15th - Aspen Hacker - 21:11.6
42nd - Sammi Stewart - 21:44.0
62nd - Taylor Jorgensen - 22:06.7
108th - Claire Hoenes - 22:55.1
Up Next
With their final regular season race in the books, the Southern Utah cross country program will turn their sights to their last Western Athletic Conference Championship before shifting to the Big Sky. The competition will take place on Oct. 31 at UT Arlington's Harold Patterson Complex.
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