Cross Country Places Second Among SoCon Teams at Upstate Invite
10/14/2023 6:12:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Athletics Department
SPARTANBURG - Mercer cross country had an impressive showing at the Upstate Invitational, both the men's and women's teams placing in the top eight of nearly thirty teams. The teams ran their best races of the season so far two weeks ahead of the Conference Championships.
Kamila Soja demolished her previous PR and school record, placing second in the 5k running a 17:00.09. Patrycja Miazek was next for the Bears, placing 29th in 18:02.8. Nikki Harris was third for the Bears in her season debut running 18:37.5. Bri Teegarden and Annette Rodriguez-Olvera rounded out the scoring runners, placing 54th and 63rd running 18:41.7 and 18:48.6, respectively. Soja, Miazek, Harris, Teegarden, Rodriguez-Olvera, and Olivia Jones (19:07.1) all ran personal records. The women again broke the program record average, clocking 18:15.
Josh Kraver led the men's team, placing 25th in 25:09.9 for 8k. He was closely followed by Jonathan Greene in 27th place in 25:13.8. Yianni Pothalakis placed 44th, running 25:37.0 with Reece Cato just a few steps behind in 50th place running 25:39.5. Henning Kunze was the fifth Bear runner, placing 55th in 25:44.3. The men's squad had a 35-second spread, averaging 25:29. Kraver, Pothalakis, and Sebasthian Rodriguez (26:21.7) ran personal records.
Head Coach Josh Hayman says, "Both teams took care of business today. The squad executed our race plan to have our best race of the season with more records broken along the way. It's a nice problem when I have too many individuals to give shout outs for taking the right risks today. We are in a great position coming into championship season."
This was the first time that the women's team has beaten ETSU since Mercer entered the Southern Conference. A majority of the SoCon teams competed in the meet, and both the men's and women's teams placed second among them.Â
The Bears will compete at the Southern Conference Championships on October 27 in Kernersville, N.C.
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Kamila Soja demolished her previous PR and school record, placing second in the 5k running a 17:00.09. Patrycja Miazek was next for the Bears, placing 29th in 18:02.8. Nikki Harris was third for the Bears in her season debut running 18:37.5. Bri Teegarden and Annette Rodriguez-Olvera rounded out the scoring runners, placing 54th and 63rd running 18:41.7 and 18:48.6, respectively. Soja, Miazek, Harris, Teegarden, Rodriguez-Olvera, and Olivia Jones (19:07.1) all ran personal records. The women again broke the program record average, clocking 18:15.
Josh Kraver led the men's team, placing 25th in 25:09.9 for 8k. He was closely followed by Jonathan Greene in 27th place in 25:13.8. Yianni Pothalakis placed 44th, running 25:37.0 with Reece Cato just a few steps behind in 50th place running 25:39.5. Henning Kunze was the fifth Bear runner, placing 55th in 25:44.3. The men's squad had a 35-second spread, averaging 25:29. Kraver, Pothalakis, and Sebasthian Rodriguez (26:21.7) ran personal records.
Head Coach Josh Hayman says, "Both teams took care of business today. The squad executed our race plan to have our best race of the season with more records broken along the way. It's a nice problem when I have too many individuals to give shout outs for taking the right risks today. We are in a great position coming into championship season."
This was the first time that the women's team has beaten ETSU since Mercer entered the Southern Conference. A majority of the SoCon teams competed in the meet, and both the men's and women's teams placed second among them.Â
The Bears will compete at the Southern Conference Championships on October 27 in Kernersville, N.C.
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| UPSTATE INVITATIONAL (OCTOBER 14) | |||
| WOMEN'S 5K | MEN'S 8K | ||
| Winner: Molly Jones (Coastal Carolina, 16:53.5) | Winner: Jason Bowers (ETSU, 23:10.2) | ||
| 2 | ! Kamila Soja, 17:00.09 | 25 | ! Josh Kraver, 25:09.9 |
| 29 | ! Patrycja Miazek, 18:02.8 | 27 | Jonathan Greene, 25.13.8 |
| 49 | ! Nikki Harris, 18:37.5 | 44 | ! Yianni Pothalakis, 25:37.0 |
| 54 | ! Bri Teegarden, 18:41.7 | 50 | Reece Cato, 25:39.5 |
| 63 | ! Annette Rodriguez-Olvera, 18:48.6 | 55 | Henning Kunze, 25:44.3 |
| 87 | ! Olivia Jones, 19:07.1 | 71 | Buck Ledford, 25:59.1 |
| 128 | Reese Robertson, 19:43.6 | 87 | Chinmay Dongari, 26:16.3 |
| 153 | Iris Porter, 20:07.8 | 88 | Zachary Burke, 26:16.4 |
| 167 | Penny Jackson, 20:18.0 | 99 | ! Sebasthian Rodriguez, 26:21.7 |
| 175 | Sarah Myers, 20:26.2 | 120 | ! Will Nash, 26:39.6 |
| 138 | Nick Frye, 27:00.8 | ||
| 168 | Peyton Millwood, 27:30.7 | ||
| 188 | Jake Peters, 27:51.6 | ||
| 194 | River Livingston, 28:00.1 | ||
| ! = Personal Best | |||
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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