Cross country competes as Southern Showcase against Power Four foes

The Troy Trojans Cross Country squads took on the Southern Showcase last Friday, with both men's and women's runners setting personal bests across the board. 

The Trojans took on a stacked field, including Alabama, Kentucky, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Florida State and more. Although the men’s team finished 33rd out of 48 teams and the women’s side was 37th out of 52 squads, plenty of runners showed improvement and promise. 

Junior Caden Blackman ended up leading the Trojans with a 140th place finish and with career-best time of 25:31.29. Lane Watson, a sophomore, followed Blackman’s performance with a 164th place finish and a final time of 25:43.98 -- also a personal best.  

Sophomore Patterson Graham ended in 225th place with a final time of 26:10.78, a personal best. Running in his first meet of the season, junior Keith Warner finished 266th with a final time of 26:11.25. Freshman Ethan Newsome rounded out Troy’s top five, finishing 310th after clocking in at a personal best 27:08.19. 

For the women, senior Makenna Calbert finished 114th and had a final time of 18:21.03, leading the pack and setting a personal best. Junior Lucy Turley finished 256th with a final time of 19:27.65. 

 Sophomore Abigail Carr and Senior Aisley McMeen rounded out the performance with finishes in 303rd and 369th,respectively, with final times of 19:59.55 and 20:55.27 . 

The Trojans will take on the Azelea City Classic in Mobile, Alabama, next. That meet takes place on Oct. 3.