SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity cross country teams traveled just down the road this morning for the UIW Invitational. On a hot, muddy day, the teams showed they belong among the best programs in Texas.

The men raced first, moving up in distance just slightly from their last outing. Led by James Rush (Iola, Texas / The Kinkaid School) and Eli Bliss (Garden Ridge, Texas / Davenport), the Tigers averaged 20:50 over 4 miles, finishing in 5th as a team.

Following a familiar trend, Rush had a huge new PR on the day, finishing 26th in 20:41. Bliss finished just behind him in 27th, also with a time of 20:41. Logan Nasky (Irving, Texas / MacArthur) was close behind, finishing 33rd in 20:46.

The team average was 30 seconds slower than last year, albeit on a sloppier course. They will hope the performance was enough to qualify them for the middle heat of the upcoming Louisville Classic on October 4th.

The women raced second, also moving up slightly to the 5k. The morning was highlighted by a monster performance from Gianna Keena (Lakeway, Texas / Lake Travis), who finished 11th in 18:08, just behind a sea of Texas Longhorns. On a tough course and a hot day, her time was only 12 seconds behind her track PR of 17:56 from last season.

Keena led the Tigers to a 5th-place finish and an 18:57 average, over 20 seconds faster than last year. Avery Hand (Abiquiu, N.M. / Terrell Academy), Cali Good (Yucaipa, Calif. / Yucaipa) and Josette Gurulé (Santa Fe, N.M. / Academy for Technology and the Classics) finished next for the women, in 19:00, 19:06, 19:09, respectively.

Next up, most of the team will travel to Hillsboro, TX, for the Hill College Cross Country Classic on September 26th. Ten members of each team will make the trip to Louisville, KY for the Louisville Classic on October 4th. These upcoming meets will be the first time both teams race their standard distances, with the men racing 8k and the women racing 4k.