SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity cross country teams opened their season at the UIW Twilight this evening with a bang. Under the lights and against strong DI competition, both teams showed strong potential for a great season to come.
The women raced first and showed that their strong core of returners would be a difference maker.
Gianna Keena (Lakeway, Texas / Lake Travis) finished first for the Tigers, placing 10th in 14:21 for the 6k, a 26 second PR.
Josette Gurule (Santa Fe, N.M. / Academy for Technology and the Classics),
Emerson Voldan (Arlington, Texas / Mansfield Summit),
Avery Hand (Abiquiu, N.M. / Terrell Academy) and
Cali Good (Yucaipa, Calif. / Yucaipa) rounded out the top five with an average time of 14:44, which is 9 seconds faster than the previous year's average. The women placed fourth overall, up two spots from the previous year's meet.
The men showed their depth over their 6k distance with 10 runners under 20 minutes, up from just seven last year.
James Rush (Iola, Texas / The Kinkaid School) set a huge new PR to finish first for the team, coming in 19th in 18:56 for a PR by over two minutes.
Thomas Melina Raab (Austin, Texas / McCallum),
Elijah Bliss (Garden Ridge, Texas / Davenport),
Brady Peifer (Odessa, Fla. / Steinbrenner) and
Sebastian Langer (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) completed the top five with an average of 19:15.
Both teams come away with a lot to show and a lot to prove. Their next outing will be September 12 at the UIW Invitational, where they will begin racing their normal distance: 8k for the men and 6k for the women.
