Mississippi State
Crimson Classic
State Women Claim Crimson Classic Title; Men Finish Second
January 01, 1970 | Cross Country
The season-opening win at Sewanee was nice, but to win the Crimson Classic for the first time in its 18-year existence speaks volumes given the stronger competition in the meet. MSU finished with 33 points in the 5K race with five competitors finishing in the top-10. State posted just a 29 second gap between its top finisher in Jennifer McPherson at 18:20.37 followed by Mina Thorstenson at 18:38.36. McPherson finished third while Thorstenson placed sixth.
This is the first time in my 19 years that we have won the Alabama event, said MSU women's head coach Al Schmidt. I challenged them this week and we not only won the event ?€“ we destroyed the field.
Sophomore Michelle Corrigan turned in a time of 18:39.42 to finish eighth in the field. MSU individuals Annie Falor and Liz Grube finished ninth and tenth respectively with times of 18:39.42 and 18:39.91.
State's men earned 56 points on the day with senior Travis McKay leading the way for the Bulldogs. McKay carded a time of 25:07.67 to place sixth. His top-10 finish is his sixth of his career and is now the career leader at MSU for top-10 finishes in a career. Ashenafi Arega crossed in seventh place at 25:27.78. MState had seven competitors finish in the top-20 on day that was hot and humid on the course.
We are very pleased with how we ran today, said assistant head coach Houston Franks. This is a tremendous improvement from last year. We had some guys running in their first meet today, so hopefully this give us more respect in the region. It also sets us up nice for the Notre Dame meet.
MSU's Jonathan Rono turned in a 13th-place finish, running the event at 25:48.15. Senior Wade Martin posted a time of 25:55.32 and finished 14th. Phillip Moore and Pad Judd finished 16th and 17th respectively with times of 25:59.78 and 26:08.96.
Alabama, ranked 19th in the country, won the men's side with 25 points. The Crimson Tide swept both individual titles. UA's Bor Emmanuel ran the event in 24:06.72 while ?€˜Bama's Julia Hicks nabbed top-honors with a time of 17:24.27.
The Maroon and White return to the course on Friday, Sept. 29, taking part in the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
