Led by a 13th place individual finish by senior Zachariah Elliott, the Morehead State men's cross country team finished 13th out of 31 teams in the gold race at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday (October 5). The Eagles were the seventh best Division I team.
The Eagle women also competed in the gold race with freshman Mackenzie Butler leading the way with a sub-19 minute time. Elliott finished the 8K course at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in 25:11.
The men finished ahead of Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri and also in-state opponents Kentucky and Western Kentucky.
Sophomore Jesse Moreno garnered a top-25 time, crossing the line in 24th place at 25:31.17. Junior Gary Monroe came in third on the team and 40th overall with a time of 25:42.69. Senior Chase Ratliff covered the course in 25:56.22.
Sophomore Evan Childers (26:46.16), junior Desmond Bell (27:36.02), freshman Jeremy Ruppert (28:03.68), freshman Landon Meserve (28:05.41) and freshman Jordan Whitehair (29:07.87) also competed for MSU.
In the women's gold race, Butler (18:59) finished 77th out of 169 Division I runners. Sophomore Lauren Tarovisky was next on the squad, covering the trail in 19:10.31.
Freshman Haley Mullins was third on the team, tallying a 19:40.42 time. Her twin sister, Hannah, was close behind at 19:44.15. Junior Krystal Williams ran the course in 19:48.37, while sophomore Erica Parks was next at 20:10.04.
The women also had several competitors in the blue race. Freshman Hannah Bailey led the way with a time of 19:59.20. Freshman Alyssa Shifflett was next at 20:04.16. Senior Parker Winters finished third among the Eagle contingent at 20:11.44.
Freshman Skyler Green (20:13.37), sophomore Alex Morris (20:18.89), sophomore Jasmyn Andrews (20:44.38), freshman Taylor Montgomery (20:54.80), freshman Katie Bamberger (21:02.78) and junior Lindsay Marcum (21:06.31) all represented Morehead State as well.
Both teams will compete next on October 18 at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C.
