Mercer University
Covered Bridge Open Invitational
Cross Country Off to a Strong Start
9/3/2022 2:34:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Mercer opens the season with one finishing in the top 10.
BOONE, N.C. – The Mercer cross country program opened the 2022 season at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, N.C. on September 2nd.. The men came home seventh overall, and the women finished 10th in a stacked field.
WOMEN'S RACE (5K)
The women's team was led by Brianna Teegarden who ran a personal best time of 19:08. It was Teegarden's first time leading the Bears in her time at Mercer. A duo of freshmen followed close behind. Leah Pfaff and Iris Porter were at 19:37 and 19:49 respectively for strong debuts in their collegiate careers. The women's group as a whole improved 25 seconds from its team average from this race last year.
Women's Results
| Place | Name | Time |
| 40 | Brianna Teagarden | 19:08:1 |
| 64 | Leah Pfaff | 19:37:6 |
| 71 | Iris Porter | 19:49:1 |
| 75 | Giulia Giorgi | 19:56:8 |
| 88 | Penelope Jackson | 20:09:1 |
| 93 | Laney Doster | 20:13:8 |
| 106 | Jaycie Calvert | 20:43:9 |
| 109 | Marina Serra | 20:49:8 |
| 111 | Oliva Jones | 21:11:2 |
| 130 | Isabella Rhone | 22:11:3 |
| 131 | Annalise Porreca | 22:28:9 |
MEN'S RACE (8K)
Vladi Zander-Velloso finished 6th and improved 26 spots ahead of last year's performance with stronger competition. It was a huge performance where he beat several top competitors from the region individually. Reece Cato was the Bear's number two finisher and ran a tremendous consistent race. Jacob Peter had a great debut for Mercer finishing as third.
"The men executed a solid race highlighted by Vlad's top 10 performance, taking down several national championship qualifiers, said Coach Josh Hayman. "If we're able to make our group a little tighter one through five, we will be very difficult to beat."
Men's Results
| Place | Name | Time |
| 6 | Vladi Zander-Velloso | 25:44:2 |
| 47 | Reece Cato | 26:42:4 |
| 51 | Jacob Peter | 26:48:4 |
| 56 | Joshua Kraver | 26:50:0 |
| 63 | Jonathan Greene | 27:10:5 |
| 76 | Zack Burke | 27:42:1 |
| 78 | Sebasthian Rodriguez | 27:51:4 |
| 82 | Yianni Pothoulakis | 27:55:8 |
| 112 | Chinmay Dongari | 29:11:1 |
| 116 | Peyton Millwood | 29:16:6 |
| 119 | Michael Patterson | 29:25:3 |
UP NEXT
The Bears will return home and host the Julius Johnson/MGA Invitational on Sept. 16. You can find more information about the race here.
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.
Players Mentioned
