Aggies post pair of sixth-place team finishes in Crimson Classic

Friday, October 13

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

9 a.m.

Texas A&M

Crimson Classic

Oct 13, 2017 | Cross Country

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TUSCALOOSA – Texas A&M produced a pair of sixth-place team finishes during the Crimson Classic hosted by Alabama. Each squad had impressive performances from its top three finishers with Kelsie Warren and Christian Farris providing the leading individual efforts for the Aggies.

"I thought it was an ok day," said Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "We had some individuals run pretty well. On the women's side I thought our top two ran great. Kelsie Warren and Ashley Driscoll did a phenomenal job. They put themselves in great position to do big things over the next month or so. Kelsey Persyn also did a solid job as our number three.

"I thought the men's top three ran pretty solid, but we need to close the gap to our four, five, six and seven runners. They're all capable of running with our top three."

Warren placed third in the women's race, covering the 6,000 meter course in 20:30.1. Auburn's Brenda Kigen was the top collegiate finisher in 20:23.4 with Eden Meyer of North Florida runner-up in 20:30.1.

"I was excited to race for the team and with the team," said Warren, who competed in just her second meet of the season. "Certainly it wasn't a perfect race, but I was happy to be out there and help my team as much as I could."

Ashley Driscoll, who led the Aggies in the first three meets of the season, placed sixth in 20:45.4 as Texas A&M had two finishers among the top 10. Kelsey Persyn finished 25^th with a time of 21:24.0.

"Kelsie got out a little quick, racing with some of the very good post-collegians in the race," noted McRaven. "Ashley, though, let that lead group go early and then ate them up throughout the race to close really well."

Warren added: "Ashley is my roommate, so it's been nice seeing her leading the team when I wasn't able to race. With both of us racing now, it will certainly be helpful for our team heading into the conference meet."

Winning the women's team title with 74 points was Georgia Tech over Auburn (124) and Mississippi State (126) in a field of 30 teams. They were followed by Samford (133), Alabama (147) and Texas A&M (163). Rounding out the top 10 were Belmont (234), Oklahoma (254), North Florida (281) and UAB (316).

An eighth-place finish in the men's race had Farris clocking a time of 24:36.3 on the 8,000 meter course. Jacob Choge of Middle Tennessee State won the race in 23:22.3 ahead of three Alabama runners – Vincent Kiprop (23:26.4), Gilbert Kigen (23:34.7) and Alfred Chelanga (23:42.0).

Alex Riba and Jon Bishop were the next pair of Aggies to finish behind Farris. Riba, who led the crew for a majority of the race, placed 13^th in 24:44.1 while Bishop was 14^th in 24:47.6.

"We had a good top three on the men's side," stated McRaven. "Both Riba and Farris are veterans, they know what they are doing and know how to handle this time of the year. It was a nice step up for Jon Bishop, who's turning into a cross country runner. He's getting stronger physically and mentally tougher. Now he's right there with those guys."

Farris said: "I went out a little slower than I wanted, but I moved up great. I was with a pack and leading the pack sometimes. They would surge and I would go with them. As a team, our four and five just wasn't there. We need to get their confidence up and work as a team. That's what Bishop and I did today."

Middle Tennessee, ranked No. 22 nationally, won a tie-breaker with Alabama for the team title among a field of 26 teams. Both squads scored 110 points, with Middle Tennessee holding a 3-2 edge in the tie-breaker.

Georgia Tech placed third with 124 points, followed by Auburn (134), Belmont (138) and Texas A&M (147). The top 10 also included North Florida (155), Samford (193), Tennessee-Martin (253) and UT Arlington (305).

The next tandem to finish for the Aggie men were Brandt Preston (58^th, 25:44.8) and Ryan Yerrow (62^nd, 25:50.7) to complete the team score for Texas A&M. Jacob Perry (73^rd, 26:00.0) and Sam Erickson (80^th, 26:06.3) were the sixth and seventh runners.

Ashton Hutcherson (21:53.7) and Lauryn Barrientos (22:17.0) completed the Aggie women's team score as the fourth and fifth runners, placing 52^nd and 80^th. Lizette Chapa (82^nd, 22:17.8) and Hannah Campbell (90^th, 22:25.2) were sixth and seventh among the Texas A&M crew.

Completing the men's squad were Eli Canal (84^th, 26:10.8), Taylor Clayton (110, 26:35.5), Zephyr Seagraves (115, 26:39.8) and Ryan Trahan (123, 26:47.3). Also racing for the Aggie women were Kaitlin Tanner (100, 22:35.2), Olivia Arriaza (102, 22:37.4), Maddie Vondra (159, 23:20.2) and Devin Norton (162, 23:20.9).