RUSTON, La. - Tulane junior cross country runner Rebecca Coady won the Mook 4 Invitational at Lincoln Parrish Park, turning in a time of 11:52 on a shortened two-mile course. Brian Lozes finished sixth in the men's race in 21:25 to lead Tulane.
The Green Wave women placed second with a score of 48, behind McNeese, which totaled 20. On the men's side, Tulane placed fifth with a score of 114, two behind fourth place Grambling. McNeese finished first with a score of 21.
"Rebecca pulled away at the end with a really strong finishing kick," assistant coach Glenn Smith said. "The adjustment they made to the women's course suited some runners more than others. We expect to see others shine in the longer courses coming up."
Coady, a junior, posted her second individual championship in her collegiate career, taking the two-mile Green Wave Invitational in 2007.
Tulane placed five runners in the top 15 and six in the top 25 of the women's race. Freshman Katherine Crabtree turned in a time of 12:17 to finish seventh, while sophomore Johanna Gretschel finished 12th in 12:30. Freshman Maggie Gentry was right on her heels in 13th with a time of 12:45. Junior Caitlin Hornbeck placed 15th with a mark of 12:51. Rounding out the Green Wave's scorers was freshman Emmi Aguillard in 18th, posting a time of 13:02.
Sophomore Jessica Dallager traversed the course in 13:26 too finish 23rd, while Peggy Kepplinger came in 27th in 13:42 and sophomore Elizabeth Piazza was 36th in 14:48.
On the men's side, Lozes posted a time of 21:25 to be the first Wave runner over the line in the four-mile race. By coming in sixth, he posted his first top 10 finish for Tulane. Sophomore Mike Mainguy posted a time of 23:08 to come in 23rd .
Sophomore Max Miller came in 27th in 23:27, while freshman Matt Morris debuted in 31st with a time of 23:52. Fellow freshman Phillip Scruggs posted a time of 24:24, coming in at 34th in his first collegiate meet. Tulane's final runner was track athlete Kevin Mitchell, in 42nd of 48 athletes with a time of 26:47.
"All of our men's runners that competed at Memphis improved their times by eight to 10 seconds," Smith said. "They all accomplished the goal we established for them entering this meet: to show improvement, meet by meet."
The Green Wave will have two weeks off before competing in the LSU Invitational on September 26 in Baton Rouge.