Cross country competes at JSU Foothills Invitational

Trojan cross country runners continually improve as their season carries on.

Although they competed in less than ideal conditions, with a rainy course and only part of the team participating, they pulled through with several personal records broken at the JSU Foothills Invitational in Oxford, Alabama, on Oct. 3.

With seven teams competing in its division, the men’s team finished in third place, while the women finished seventh out of nine competitors.

“Since we didn’t bring our whole squad to the meet, we weren’t as concerned with how we finished as a team — we were more focused on seeing individual improvement,” said head coach Elliott Blount. “In general, we did see that, but mostly from the underclassmen. It’s important that we get everybody on the same page heading into championship week.”

As Blount mentioned, underclassmen continue to be the driving force for the men’s team.

Freshman Brennan Garriques led the Troy team for the third time this season, placing 11th of 58 runners. Garriques’ final time was a personal records for the 8K, finishing at 26:18.90, averaging 5:17.7 per mile.

Sophomore Dylan Ogburn came second the Trojan men, with a time of 26:37.07, making his average mile time 5:21.3. Wrapping up 13 seconds behind his teammate was junior Timothy Bulger at 26:50.44.

Sophomore Sarah Zylstra led the Trojan women by placing 18th of 71 participants. Also beating a personal best, her 5K time was 18:46.23, putting her average mile time at 6:02.5.

Second of the Trojan women was senior Julia Ostendorf, closing at 19:11.41, with an average mile of 6:10.6. Wrapping up the Trojan top three runners was junior Katrina Bokenfohr at 19:59.00, almost 50 seconds behind Ostendorf, averaging 6:26.0 per mile.

Troy cross country competes again Friday, Oct. 16, at the Crimson Classic hosted in Tuscaloosa by the University of Alabama.