State Cross Country Teams Fare Well At Pre-National Invitational

Saturday, October 13

Terre Haute, Ind.

All Day

Mississippi State

Pre-National Invitational

State Cross Country Teams Fare Well At Pre-National Invitational

October 13, 2007 | Cross Country

By: hailstate.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? The Mississippi State men's cross country finished 22nd in the men's white 8K race at the Pre-National Invitational Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind. The women finished 32nd in the women's blue 6K race. MState's men gathered 559 points, while the women tallied 856 points.

For the first time this season, State's men were led by freshman Ben Blakenship, who finished 66th, running 24 minutes, 15 seconds. Junior Jonathan Rono came in 96th place with a time of 24:27, while junior Robert Scribner came in 123rd with a time of 24:45. Junior Michael Chapa took 134th, running 24:53. Senior Ashenafi Arega finished 140th with a time of 24:55. Freshmen Adam Lenz (24:56) and Matthew Cameron (25:22) finished 143rd and 183rd, respectively.

“It is the best effort in running that I have seen since I have been here, said Men's Head Coach Steve Dudley. “As a team, they ran faster than what I asked for.”

MSU's women were led by freshman Sarah Hammes, who came in 99th place, with a time of 21:44. Fellow freshman Simone Domingue took 109th place, running 21:51. Senior Annie Falor rounded out the Lady Bulldog top three finishing 151st with a time of 22:17.

“We were committed to running a good race, said Women's Head Coach Al Schmidt. “The race had a big time feeling to it and I needed the first three runners to concentrate and they ran spectacularly today.”

Taking a week off to prepare, both cross country teams head to the SEC Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Lexington, Ky.