Mercer University
Strut''s Season Opener
Men's Cross Country Finishes Fourth at Struts Season Opener
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
MACON, Ga. – Mercer freshman Ahmed Jama finished 15th overall in his collegiate debut to lead the men's cross country team to a fourth place finish at the 5k Struts Season Opener on Friday night at the Jacksonville State Cross Country Course.
The Bears, who claimed the 2014 Struts Season Opener title, posted an average time of 16:23 en route to 114 points, despite featuring a top-7 of all underclassmen after replacing its top-5 from a year ago. Georgia claimed the team title, while Georgia Tech and Troy rounded out the top three.
Jama completed the 5k course in 15:31.9 thanks to an average mile below five minutes to rank second among all freshmen at the meet. The Woodstock, Ga., native's time eclipsed Davis Trexler's 2014 winning time by nearly 45 seconds.
Sophomore transfer Cameron Gatt crossed the line in 19th place with a time of 16:13.5, followed by freshman Evan Park (16:40.0) and sophomore Nicholas Ashmead (16:43.1) in 25th and 26th respectively. Sophomore Mark Brannen rounded out the scoring for Mercer, finishing 29th with a time of 16:47.2.
Freshmen Justin Hanson and Abraham Balawi were next for the Bears, finishing 32nd and 34th with times of 17:06.4 and 17:10.0. McHenry Power (17:21.0), Ross Porter (17:31.9) and Aurelien Bourgeon (17:50.7) closed out Mercer's participants on Friday.
Mercer will be back in action next Saturday, when it travels to Greenville, S.C. to compete in fellow Southern Conference member Furman's Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Sep. 12.
Players Mentioned
