Georgia Southern University Athletics

Eagle Cross Country Answers the Challenge at Alabama Crimson Classic

Next up is 2016 Sun Belt Championships on October 29th

Michael Parker

Bianka Loza

Track & Field/XC | 10/14/2016 2:03:00 PM

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Georgia Southern Cross Country faced its deepest field of the season on Friday morning in the 2016 Alabama Crimson Classic, placing 22nd in a field which featured 10 teams from the Power Five Conferences. Ashton Lord led the Eagles across the line with the top five Georgia Southern finishers covered by just 37 seconds. Next up for the Eagles is the 2016 Sun Belt Championships in Dothan, Ala.

Friday's race was Georgia Southern first return to Tuscaloosa since the Eagles made their debut in the NCAA Regionals last fall. The race was also run at the 6 km distance, a full kilometer longer than the Eagles will see in a fortnight at the Sun Belt Championships.

QUOTABLES
Cross Country Coach Franz Holmes
"Today was a lot of fun. I'm very proud of our ladies and the effort we gave today. We went up against some stiff competition today and the course was a full 1000m longer than the meets we regularly compete in. It was great watching our ladies take on this challenge, as we improved our performance on this course from regionals last year. We were able to identify some areas which we can work on and excel in the next few weeks before we head to Troy to compete for the Sun Belt Championship.

TEAM RESULTS
1. Alabama
2. Kentucky
3. Lipscomb
4. Georgia
5. Auburn
6. Memphis
7. Southern Miss.
8. Tennessee-Martin
9. Samford
10. Georgia Tech
11. Belmont
12. Tennessee Tech
13. South Carolina
14. Houston
15. Mississippi
16. LSU
17. Tennessee
18. UAB
19. Kennesaw State
20. Florida State
21. UT-Arlington
22. Georgia Southern
23. Alabama State
24. Houston Baptist
25. Alabama A&M

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
156. Ashton Lord (23:26.6)
163. Bailey Willett (23;34.4)
176. Bianca Loa (23:46.7)
178. Ellunde Montgomery (23:48.8)
195. Rebecca Parker (24:03.9)
249. Kaitlin Rocker (25:59.1)
254. Shakinah Omari (26:16.9)
263. Jillian Sloane (26:57.6)

NEXT UP
Next up for Georgia Southern is the 2016 Sun Belt Championships. This year's run for the championship takes place in Dothan, Alabama on Saturday, October 29.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Ashton Lord: XC - Distance; Junior

Rebecca Parker: XC - Distance; Sophomore

Bailey Willett: XC - Mid-Distance; Sophomore

Bianca Loza: XC - Distance; Junior

Jillian Sloane: XC - Mid-Distance; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Ashton Lord
: Junior
: XC - Distance

Rebecca Parker
: Sophomore
: XC - Distance

Bailey Willett
: Sophomore
: XC - Mid-Distance

Bianca Loza
: Junior
: XC - Distance

Jillian Sloane
: Freshman
: XC - Mid-Distance