The women’s squad finished in front of conference rival Brenau University and in-state foe University of Louisiana Monroe by posting a team average time of 20:22.35. Sophomore Francesca Vaccaro led the way for the Pack as she finished the 5K course in 19:57.11, good for 135th place. Freshman Kennedi Henneberger placed 143rd as she crossed the finish line with a time of 20:05.01. Senior Annie Hills was just seconds behind Henneberger with a 147th place finish. Denise Powell and Haley Milsark rounded out the scoring for the Pack with times of 20:44.9 and 20:54.68 respectively.
“The women’s team was able to beat Brenau who was ranked 2nd in the conference,” said head men’s and women’s coach Andy Canegitta. “The ladies ran strong and stayed together. The top five all finished within 60 seconds of each other, which was our goal coming into the race. I am very pleased with their performance and look forward to them improving in the future.”
The men’s squad finished in 22nd place, posting an average time of 28:37.55 in the 8K race. Junior Paul Freese completed his first race of the season and led the Pack runners with a time of 27:53.61, earning 137th place at the Crimson Classic. Sophomore Jonathan Malbrue finished just behind Freese in 141st place, coming in just under 28 minutes. Toren Arnold also completed his first race of the year with a time of 28:50.03, finishing less than a second in front of teammate Henry Gerbract. Alexander Morano completed the men’s scoring with a 168th place finish.
“Our men’s team ran extremely strong,” said Canegitta. “They showed some guts and were extremely competitive. They really stepped up to the challenge. A couple guys were dealing with injuries and really fought to finish the race.”
The Wolf Pack cross country teams will be back in action on Oct. 26 as they head to South Carolina for the Sand Shark Invitational. The race will begin at 8 a.m. eastern standard time.
135 Francesca Vaccaro 19:57.11
143 Kennedi Henneberger 20:05.01
147 Annie Hills 20:09.97
164 Denise Powell 20:44.9
171 Haley Milsark 20:54.68
181 Elizabeth Gienger 21:08.57
194 Jessica Williams 21:47.61
200 Raquel Derganz Baker 23:11.24
205 Ashleigh Sparks 24:15.13
23 Loyola-New Orleans
Total Time: 1:41:51.73
Average: 20:22.35
137 Paul Freese 27:53.61
141 Jonathan Malbrue 27:59.18
157 Toren Arnold 28:50.03
158 Henry Gerbracht 28:50.59
168 Alexander Morano 29:34.30
22 Loyola-New Orleans
Total Time: 2:23:07.71
Average: 28:37.55