Cross Country Enjoys Successful Day At Falcon Classic

Saturday, September 15

Montevallo, Ala.

All Day

Mississippi State

Montevallo Falcon Classic

Mia Meydrich (left) and Stephanie Peterson paced MSU to a first-place finish in the women's 5K at the Falcon Classic on Saturday.

Photo by: Caleb Garner

Cross Country Enjoys Successful Day At Falcon Classic

September 15, 2018 | Cross Country

Women's 5K Results (PDF)Men's 8K Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – For the second year in a row, the Mississippi State cross country team found success at the Montevallo Falcon Classic, highlighted by senior Mia Meydrich's second-place finish in the women's 5K on Saturday.

Meydrich, combined with top-10 finishes from Stephanie Peterson (fourth) and Shannon Fair (10^th) led State's women to a second-straight Falcon Classic title. It was Meydrich's first cross country race since September 17, 2016, and marked the highest finish of her cross country career.

Earlier in the morning, in the men's 8K, MSU earned a third-place finish led by senior JT Mackay. Among the four Division I teams represented, State finished second.

"I'm pretty pleased with how we ran today," head coach Houston Franks said. "It was hot and sticky, but I'm proud of how we battled that and kept working together. I thought Mia put together a solid run in her first cross country race in a couple of years, and JT did a great job leading our men."

In addition to Mackay's top-15 finish, Chandler Underwood (17^th), Eryk Yunk (18^th) and Luke Zacharias (19^th) finished in the top 20. Five Bulldogs—Underwood, Blake Beavers, Benjamin Craw, Lake Spradling and Zach Weaver—ran personal-bests in the 8K.

On the women's side, Katherine Badham (12^th), Sydney Steely (13^th), Alex Wallace (16^th) and Carly Terp (19^th) all finished in the top 20.

"It was great to see several Bulldogs up in the top 20 today in both races," Franks said. "Overall, it was a good day, and I thought we improved from our first meet. We can definitely build on today and keep improving."

Next Up For MSU …

Next, the Bulldogs will turn their attention to the Greater Louisville Classic, held Saturday, Sept. 29 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Men's 8K Team Results (Top 10)

Florida A&M, 18
Lee (Tenn.), 59
Mississippi State, 88
Emory, 134
Montevallo, 220
Lynn, 241
Columbus State, 247
Auburn Montgomery, 267
West Alabama, 280
West Florida, 290

MSU Results
12. JT Mackay, 25:47.61; 17. Chandler Underwood, 26:03.17; 18. Eryk Yunk, 26:03.39; 19. Luke Zacharias, 26:04.44; 22. Benjamin Craw, 26:13.21; 23. Lake Spradling, 26:13.45; 27. Caden Foos, 26:22.63; 31. Zach Weaver, 26:24.23; 42. Blake Beavers, 26:43.56; 53. John Dalton Rohr, 26:59.94; 57. Tristan Orman, 27:09.86

Women's 5K Results (Top 10)

Mississippi State, 41
Lee (Tenn.), 55
Emory, 93
Florida A&M, 95
Columbus State, 185
Montevallo, 215
Lynn, 223
Jacksonville State, 247
Blue Mountain College, 274
West Florida, 280

MSU Results
2. Mia Meydrich, 18:07.28; 4. Stephanie Peterson, 18:23.49; 10. Shannon Fair, 18:58.55; 12. Katherine Badham, 19:08.33; 13. Sydney Steely 19:10.86; 16. Alex Wallace 19:16.86; 18. Carly Terp, 19:28.43; 21. Emma Tucker, 19:30.03; 30. Charlotte Cayton-Smith, 19:44.04; 39. Ava Weems, 20:15.57; 71. Alyssa Staubach, 21:21.40; 104. Alon Lewis, 22:28.63

For more information on the Mississippi State cross country team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.