Cross Country Program Starts Season on High Note

Friday, September 3

Boone, N.C.

5:00 PM

Mercer University

Covered Bridge Open

Results (PDF)

Photo by: Jen Jones

Cross Country Program Starts Season on High Note

9/3/2021 11:37:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

The men finished seventh, and the women ran 12th.

By: Kraig Doremus

BOONE, N.C. – The Mercer cross country program opened the 2021 season at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, N.C. on Friday afternoon. The men came home seventh overall, and the women finished 12^th in a stacked field.

"I loved the aggressiveness of the men today, and the women competed against a very tough field," remarked head coach Josh Hayman. "I expect both teams to continue to make progress and move up each week."

WOMEN'S RACE (5K)
In the women's 5K, freshman Laney Doster led the Bears in her first collegiate meet with a 48^th-place finish. Doster took slightly more than 19 minutes to run the race, finishing in 19:03.22. Behind Doster were fellow freshmen Annette Rodriguez Olvera (77^th, 20:08.13) and Reese Robertson (86^th, 20:16.12). Sophomore Jaycie Calvert and senior Ashley McMahon were both among the first 100 finishers, crossing the line in 93^rd and 94^th, respectively. Calvert ran the 5K in 20:26.62, while McMahon finished the race in 20:31.43. As a team, the Orange & Black finished 12^th with 324 points.

WOMEN'S RESULTS

PLACE	NAME		TIME
48		Laney Doster	19:03.22
77		Annette Rodriguez Olvera	20:08.13
86		Reese Robertson	20:16.12
93		Jaycie Calvert	20:26.62
94		Ashley McMahon	20:31.43
106		Bella Rhone	21:06.19
112		Penny Jackson	21:34.55

MEN'S RACE (8K)
On the men's side, Josh Kraver picked up where he left off in 2020, leading Mercer to a seventh-place team finish with 179 points. Kraver, an all-freshman performer at the 2020 SoCon Championships, crossed the start-finish line in 25^th with a time of 26:14.48. Vladi Zander-Velloso finished inside the top-35 with a 32^nd-place showing and time of 26:23.94. Freshman Jonathan Greene was not far behind the veteran Velloso, coming home 38^th in his first collegiate race. Greene ran the 8K in 26:29.09. Graduate transfer Connor Kaufman was one spot Greene, finishing 39^th (26:30.26). Reece Cato (52^nd) also scored for the Bears. Cato crossed the line in 52^nd with a time of 26:57.44. Mercer ended the race seventh overall with 179 points.

MEN'S RESULTS

PLACE	NAME		TIME
25		Josh Kraver	26:14.48
32		Vladi Zander-Velloso	26:23.94
38		Jonathan Greene	26:29.09
39		Connor Kaufman	26:30.26
52		Reece Cato	26:57.44
74		Chris French	27:54.27
96		Diego Lavieri Sosa	28:41.64
103		Sebasthian Rodriguez	29:04.93
114		Chinmay Dongari	29:39.61
128		Will Nash	31:04.01

UP NEXT
The Bears will run at the North Alabama Showcase on Sept. 17. The men will run at 8:30 a.m. eastern time with the women to follow at 9:15 a.m.

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.