HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Georgia Tech cross country took to the course in Huntsville, Ala. on Friday. The women’s team placed ninth and the men’s team finished 13th.
The women’s team started proceedings on the day with their 6k race. Three-time All-ACC cross country runner Nicole Fegans finished first for the Jackets with a time of 20:06.68. She finished 11th overall earning her All-South Region honors.
“Individually, Nicole raced well in earning All-South Region honors once again. She just missing earning an automatic individual qualifying spot for next week’s NCAA National Championships. But she still has a chance to earn one of two at-large spots. We’ll see how the other regions unfold throughout today and hope that she gets the chance to represent the Institute in Tallahassee next Saturday,” Head Coach Alan Drosky said.
The rest of the scorers for the Tech women are Claire Moritz (20:45.20), Liz Galarza (20:57.92), Mary Kathryn Knott (21:46.55) and Katy Earwood (21:57.58). Gillian Filer rounds out the runners for the White and Gold clocking in at 22:10.13.
Knott returned to the course for her first action of the season. “It was awesome to be back out racing with the team again after missing most of the season. I am so thankful the team and coaches trusted me to join them for one last meet,” Knott said. “I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m excited to start the season.”
Tech women steadily improved throughout the race shaving 45 points of their score at the 1.6k split. Galarza showed her signature strong kick improving 14 spots in the final split of the race. This was the largest improvement of any runner in the top 50.
“Also, individually, Claire Moritz just missed all-Region honors and capped off a great season for her. She was really outstanding every time we raced. James Cragin didn’t have his best day today, but he also put together the best season of his career in leading our men. And Henrik Anderson really had a great race in the first 10k of his career,” Coach Drosky said.
The Jackets men’s team took to the course for their first 10k race of the season. James Cragin crossed the finish line first for the White and Gold with a time of 30:53.83. Henrik Anderson (31:12.94), Myles Collins (31:38.44), John Higinbotham (32:08.47) and Zach Jaeger (32:08.58) round out the Georgia Tech scorers.
Joshua Williams and Nick Nyman were the final two runners to cross the line for the Jackets with times of 32:14.27 and 33:06.61, respectively.
“Overall, it was a disappointing day for both teams as neither performed up to expectations. It’s been an up and down season with its share of illness and injury. Every team experiences the same things, but we were just unable to overcome ours. When we were on, we showed we can compete at a high level. But today was not one of those days. For the teams now, a little reflection and measuring what didn’t go well and why, then back to the drawing board and the upcoming track season,” Coach Drosky concluded.
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