BOONE, N.C. – Rory O'Connor and Clint Sherman led their respective squads as WKU Cross Country closed out competition in the Mountains to Sea Open Friday, Sept. 18 at State Farm Fields.
The women's team earned a third-place finish in the 5K with an average time of 19:08.40, while the men's squad also placed third with an average mark of 22:39.98 in the 6.4K.
"Today was a tale of two different performances," said cross country head coach Brooks LeCompte. "I felt we had a strong showing on the women's side with six runners under 19:40, where as last year we only had two women accomplish that all season. Rory [O'Connor] was fantastic for us, running 18:30 in her first collegiate meet under less than ideal conditions is a great sign of things to come for her and this women's squad.
"On the other hand, the men, who are missing a few key guys in uniform, didn't perform how I expected them to. We will look to regroup in two weeks at Louisville."
The women's team was led by two freshmen in O'Connor and Zoe Manning, who both earned top-15 finishes. O'Connor paced the squad with a time of 18:30.07 to finish ninth, while Manning's 19:05.66 mark gave her a 15th-place finish. Three of the women's four returners in the race finished with personal records, as Haley Webb, Jenna Vaughn and Kaia Enevoldsen all recorded career-best times.
WKU Women's Results
3rd – Team – 19:08.40 avg.
9th – Rory O'Connor – 18:30.07
15th – Zoe Manning – 19:05.66
21st – Haley Webb – 19:14.95 (PR)
23rd – Lucy Rutherford – 19:22.75
24th – Savannah Heckman – 19:28.56
28th – Jenna Vaughn – 19:36.90 (PR)
40th – Kaia Enevoldsen – 21:27.03 (PR)
On the men's side, both Sherman and Emerson Wells earned top-25 finishes in the 6.4K, with each recording personal records as well. Sherman led the group with a 21st-place finish while recording a time of 21:27.51, while Wells placed 24th after finishing with a mark of 21:40.50.
WKU Men's Results
3rd – Team – 22:39.98 avg.
21st – Clint Sherman – 21:27.51 (PR)
24th – Emerson Wells – 21:40.50 (PR)
26th – Jacob Skillman – 21:55.45
36th – Steven Votaw – 23:48.12
37th – Luke Hoover – 24:28.31
38th – Casey Buchanan – 26:55.49
WKU will be back in action in two weeks when it heads to Louisville for the Live in Lou Classic Saturday, Oct. 3 at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.
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