Bears to Conclude Regular Season at Home

MACON, Ga. – Head coach Josh Hayman's Mercer Bears will conclude the regular season with a home meet featuring schools from the Southern Conference on Friday evening.

In a tune up before the SoCon Championships (Nov. 21), Chattanooga, Samford and Western Carolina will challenge Mercer at the Georgia Premier Cross Country Course.

MEET INFO
Name: Mercer Invitational
Date: Oct. 30, 2020
Host: Mercer
Location: Macon, Ga. | Georgia Premier Cross Country Course
Course Map: Click Here
Race Distances: 5K (women), 8K (men)
Race Time: 5:00 p.m. (women), 5:40 p.m. (men)

The Bears ran at home to kick off the 2020 season, hosting the Julius Johnson Invitational. Ashley McMahon helped Mercer "light the bridge," earning the win with a 5K time of 18:46.66. McMahon was closely followed by Zoe Sanchez (7^th), Giulia Giorgi (8^th) and Marina Van Sickle (10^th) as the women's squad narrowly defeated Georgia State to claim the team title.

The Mercer men finished third in the season opener with Josiah Jaqua's fourth-place (27:37.81) finish leading the way. Fuad Batteh (8^th) and Vladi Zander-Velloso (9^th) also turned in top-10 performances.

Mercer last ran at UAB on Oct. 16. McMahon led the women for the third consecutive meet and helped them run the third-fastest 6K average in program history, 23:31. McMahon was steady throughout the race before crossing the line in 14^th place, clocking in at 22:33.37. Sanchez (23:05.89) also recorded a top-20, coming home 18^th.

For the Mercer men – three freshman – Josh Kraver, Reece Cato and Michael Patterson – were among the team's top-five finishers. Kraver led the way with a 25:54.74, placing him 43^rd overall.

McMahon and the Mercer women are seeking their second victory of the season and will run a 5K at 5:00 p.m. The men's 8K will start at 5:40 p.m.

Following the Mercer Invitational, the Bears will run at the Georgia Premier Cross Country Course for a third time when they host the Southern Conference Championships on Nov. 21.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Cross Country, follow the team at @MercerXCTF (Twitter), /mercerxctf (Facebook) and @mercerbearsxctf (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

Fuad Batteh

Reece Cato

Giulia Giorgi

Josiah Jaqua

Josh Kraver

Ashley McMahon

Zoe Sanchez

Marina Van Sickle

Vladi Zander-Velloso

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