ORLANDO, Fla. - Sophomore Paige Callahan took the top spot in leading the Tulane women's cross country team to a second-place finish in their 5K race Saturday morning at the Walt Disney World Classic in Orlando, Florida. The Green Wave men's team finished their 8K race in fourth with Sophomore Mark Manion as the team's top finisher.
Callahan's 18:53.70 finishing time beat out the other 231 participants in the race and she was the first runner to cross the finish line in under nineteen minutes. It was the first title for Callahan. This season is leading to be a big one for Callahan who has already recorded a career best and finished second overall at the last meet in addition to her individual title this weekend.
The rest of the squad were not far behind the champion with senior Katherine Crabtree snagging 12th place (10th in team scoring) with her time of 19:33.50. Senior Emmi Aguillard, Freshman Mikayla Sonneborn, and Junior Callie Turlington finished consecutively taking 23rd, 24th, and 25th place at just over twenty minutes. Sonneborn's 20:11.00 time was a personal best for the freshman. Junior Aimee Arceneaux rounded off the team with her impressive time of 20:45.50. The team beat out twenty-six other teams to grab the second best team score.
"It's the best place finish [for the women's team] in a big invitational," said head coach Eric Peterson. "To come away with Paige winning the meet from an individual standpoint is great. It's her first time winning an individual title. We also got much better pack running [this meet] from the rest of the team."
As for the men's squad, they finished within the Top 5 as well with the fourth best team score at the meet beating out twenty-two other teams. After taking first place two weeks ago, Manion finished with a twelfth place finish leading the team with a time of 26:43.54.
Freshman Jack White had a particularly good day as the second team member to cross the finish line. He ran the eight kilometers in 27:37.73 recording his personal best time in his young career.
The rest of the team helped the Green Wave reach their top 5 performance, with team scoring placing all of the credited runners in the Top 50. Freshmen Adam Yohanan, Nicholas Meloro, and Sophomore Geoffrey Zelek all finished under 29 minutes taking the 29th, 42nd, and 48th best scores.
"Coming off from a victory, the men came in with a lot of confidence," Peterson said. "Mark Manion continues to lead our team with another consistent effort. Jack White and Adam Yohanan ran very well today to strengthen the middle of the lineup. No one was off, it was a solid performance."
Next week's meet at the University of Alabama's Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa will be the last time the team will take to the course in the regular season. On October 27th, the team will run in the Conference USA championships in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
"[The Crimson Classic] is our final race before the conference championships," said Peterson. "I anticipate the field being the most competitive field we've faced all year. We're coming away with real positive feelings about this meet. But we're going to work hard over the next few weeks."
You can follow the Green Wave cross country/track and field program on Twitter (@GreenWaveTkFld) or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TulaneXCTF.
Men's Finishers
Place/Adj. - Name - 8K Time
12/11 - Mark Manion - 26:43.54
27/26 - Jack White - 27:37.73
31/29 - Adam Yohanan - 27:44.74
45/42 - Nicholas Meloro - 28:21.72
51/48 - Geoffrey Zelek - 28:31.68
77/-- - Mike Villasin - 29:32.63
Women's Finishers
Place/Adj. - Name - 5K Time
1/1 - Paige Callahan - 18:53.70
12/10 - Katherine Crabtree - 19:33.50
25/23 - Emmi Aguillard - 20:03.40
26/24 - Mikayla Sonneborn - 20:11.00
27/25 - Callie Turlington - 20:11.50
49/-- - Aimee Arceneaux - 20:45.50