PENSACOLA, Fla. - Coach Eric Peterson was looking for two things out of his men's and women's cross country teams: improve upon its times and ability to run as a group. Fittingly, Saturday's Gulf Coast Stampede saw the Green Wave bunch up as a group, while nine of 14 student-athletes turned in season or personal bests. Tulane's women finished fourth, led by sophomore Johanna Gretschel, while sophomore Brian Lozes once again paced the men, to a sixth-place finish.
"Our program took a step forward today in learning how to run better as a team," Peterson said.
Gretschel turned in a time of 19:04, to lead Tulane across the line in 12th place, 11th among collegians. Right behind her was freshman Maggie Gentry, in 19:11 to finish 14th and set a new personal best. Freshman Katherine Crabtree placed 22nd, trimming eight seconds off her personal best with a time of 19:34. Hot on her heels was fellow freshman Emmi Aguilard in 25th, with a personal best time of 19:43.
"I feel we improved as a unit. There was a 39-second gap between our first through fourth runners," Peterson said. "We finished in a much different order then last weekend in LSU, which is a good sign that the athletes are competing both against the field and within our roster. The energy was positive today and the level of enthusiasm is high. We are improving and I'm pleased about that."
Sophomore Jessica Dallager placed 43rd in a time of 20:44, just off her personal best of 20:30. Right behind her was junior Caitlin Hornbeck with a time of 20:46, in 44th place. Peggy Keplinger set a new personal best with a time of 21:25 to place 50th.
With 110 points, the women placed fourth of 12 teams, as Southern Miss placed four runners in the top nine to win the team competition. Mindy Thomas won the individual competition unattached in a time of 17:37, while Troy University's Sylvia Chirchir was the top collegiate finisher in 18:09.
For the fourth straight event, Lozes paced the men's team, turning in a time of 26:18. Lozes cut 36 seconds off his previous career best, which came last season at Auburn.
"Brian ran a very evenly paced race today that allowed him to finish with more strength and speed," Peterson said. "This was a well executed race by Brian and I'm pleased to see him continue to lead this young team."
Sophomore Max Miller came in 33rd with a personal-best time of 28:04, while freshman Jordan Vance posted a career-best of 28:35 to finish 42nd. Sophomore Mike Mainguy was right behind in 28:36 and 43rd place, while sophomore Jordon Holtzman placed 47th in 28:51. FreshmanPhil Scruggs set a new career best at 29:44 to finish 52nd, while freshman Sam King came in 59th in 30:12.
"The rest of the men's team improved dramatically from previous races. In fact, five of the seven runners ran significant lifetime best marks over 8k, and some were improvements by between 1:00 and 3:30 minutes," Peterson continued. "I was particularly pleased to see Jordan, Max, Mike and Jordon, work well together as a group to improve our team results from last weekend."
Overall, the men placed sixth with 163 points and an average time of 28:04. South Alabama won the team competition, placing four runners in the top five, and seven of the top 11. USA's Michal Tirop won the event in 24:42
The Tulane men are back in action next Saturday at the Mississippi College Invitational, while the women will have a week off before the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 17.
Women's 5K Results
Pl, Tulane Finisher, Time (Points)
12 Gretschel, Johanna, 19:04.00 (11)
14 Gentry, Maggie, 19:11.00 (13)
22 Crabtree, Katherine, 19:34.80 (21)
25 Aguillard, Emmi, 19:43.00 (24)
43 Dallager, Jessica, 20:44.00 (41)
44 Hornbeck, Caitlin, 20:46.00 (42)
50 Keplinger, Peggy, 21:25.00 (47)
Men's 8K Results
Pl, Tulane Finisher, Time (Points)
12 Lozes, Brian, 26:18.00 (12)
33 Miller, Max, 28:04.00 (30)
42 Vance, Jordan, 28:35.00 (39)
43 Mainguy, Mike, 28:36.00 (40)
47 Holtzman, Jordon, 28:51.00 (42)
52 Scruggs, Phillip, 29:44.00 (45)
59 King, Sam, 30:12.00 (48)