Jill Odom
Sports Editor
The Troy cross country team attended its second meet of the season and took fourth place at the Azalea City Classic at Mobile on Friday, Sept. 12.
The women finished the 6K race with a time of 2:02:52, trailing South Alabama by 10 seconds. Junior Julia Ostendorf finished eighth in the 6K with a time of 21:58.7, which was just shy of her personal best of 21:56.9.
Teammates sophomore Keaton Wallace and freshman Stephanie Newman were the next Trojans to cross the finish line, ending 24th with a time of 24:06.4 and 31st at 25:14.1, respectively. Sophomore Kristina Bokenfohr took 35th, and sophomore Rae Leach was the last Trojan to finish at 39th.
“We definitely showed signs of life and flashes of competitiveness,” head coach Elliot Blount said. “Julia placed eighth overall and did very well. Keaton and Kristina competed much better than their last runs. When we are back at full strength, this team has the potential to do very good things.”
As for the men, freshman Joe Giese was the first to finish the 8K for Troy. He came in 24th place with a time of 27:39.2. Giese was followed closely by junior Sean Kent, who finished 26th at 27:51.6.
Blount said he was disappointed with the men’s performance at the meet but plans to see the team improve.
“In order for the men to take the next step, someone has to emerge as a leader,” Blount said. “We’re back in action next week, and we will compete better.”
Troy’s next meet is at the Mountain Dew Gator XC Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday, Sept. 20.
