Colonels Post Second Straight Second Place Finish

 STARKVILLE, Miss - A pair of top-five individual performances led the Colonel women's squad to their second consecutive runner-up finish and the men's side finished sixth as the Nicholls State University men's and women's cross country teams continued to show progress at the Mississippi State Invitational on Saturday.

After Friday thunderstorms soaked the course and pushed the start time back an hour. When the event got underway, a thoroughly soggy course awaited the Nicholls State University men's and women's cross country teams.

The Colonel women proved to be up to the task, logging their second runner up finish in as many meets. Freshman Brea Goodman led the Colonels with her second top-five finish in her second career race by clocking in at 19:03.82 to take third. Junior Lauren Jones was hot on her heels with a time of 19:12.96 to take fourth and give Nicholls a pair of top-five finishers.

Freshman Dakota Goodman, who led the Colonels to second place at the Golden Eagle Invitational two weeks ago with a fourth place finish, narrowly missed out on her second top-five finish in as many races with a sixth place time of 19:24.51. Kadi Whisnant narrowly missed a top-ten finish with an 11th place time of 19:53.91 that set a personal best for a 5K course.

With three top-ten finishers and one more in 11th, the Colonels were the only members of the field to mount a serious threat to Mississippi State on the Bulldogs' home course. Nicholls totaled 38 points, but the Bulldogs managed to place three finishers in the top five and six in the top ten for a 25-point total. Alabama-Huntsville was a distant third with 86 points.

The Colonels also saw strong performances from junior Jessica McLeod, who continues to progress after returning from knee injuries and finished 14th (20:41.83), and Skyla Jackson, who was right behind McLeod in 15th (20:58.37). Imma Kosgei's 19th place time of 21:37.95 assured that no female Colonel runner finished outside the top-20.

"Our women's team ran very strong today," head cross country coach Matthew Esche said. "I was really impressed by Kadi's performance. She gives us five girls who have broken 20 minutes this year. If we can get everyone to do that all on the same day, that makes for a pretty formidable team."

On the men's side, Tyler Folse led the way for Nicholls, narrowly missing out on a top-20 finish with a 23rd place time of 28:20.48. Joseph Fryou was 48 seconds behind with a 35th-place time of 29:08.11, and Jordan Reed finished 36th by clocking in at 29:08.60.

Ross Mullooly narrowly missed a top-40 finish with a 41st place time of 30:08.46, and Dylan Williams rounded things out for the Colonels with a time of 31:56.49.

"On the men's side it seemed like we were a little tired," Esche said. "We may not have been completely recovered from that illness that was going around. We'll need to work on making sure we are more prepared for LSU next weekend."

The Colonels will face a quick turnaround as they prepare for the LSU Invitational next Saturday at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge.