Cross country teams both place fourth

The Troy cross country teams traveled to Jacksonville for the JSU Foothills Invitational for the fourth meet of the season on Oct. 4.

Troy took fourth place out of seven competitors in the women’s 5k race. Junior Julia Ostendorf set a new personal best with a time of 18:40.68, while coming in fifth place. Fellow Trojans sophomores Katrina Bokenfohr and Sara Lane placed closely together, finishing 21st and 26th, respectively.

“We had some season-bests out there today,” said head cross country coach Elliott Blount. “We are a little banged up in our 4-8 runners. We are going to have to find some more depth moving forward. However, I know with the energy these athletes have, we will continue to get better every week.”

The men’s team also took fourth in the 8k race. The team was led by freshman Cameron McCutcheon, who finished eighth, with a time of 27:36.75. Teammate sophomore Sean Kent was close behind McCutcheon, at 27:28.58. Freshman Calvin Lysell, who finished third for the Trojans, finished with a time of 28:08.99.

“I am very pleased with how the men competed this weekend,” Blount said. “We have a lot of momentum heading into the last tune-up before conference play.”

The Trojans will travel to Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Classic on Oct. 17. The Crimson Classic will feature conference rivals such as Georgia Southern, South Alabama, UT Arlington, Georgia State, ULM and UL Lafayette.