The UTM cross country squads opened the 2020-21 season on Saturday afternoon at the Redhawks Invite ran at Osage Centre Fields to great team success.
UTM competed in a field which included regional foes Eastern Illinois, Memphis, SIUE and Southeast Missouri. The Skyhawk men would place first amongst the five squads with 36 points while the women’s team placed third with 74 points.
Stealing the show individually was Skyhawk standout Ryan Ford who won individual honors by placing first overall in the field with an 8k time of 24:16.4. Ford’s time ranked fifth in program history and as a personal-best. The victory also marked the second career title for Ford, joining his performance at the 2018 Stegemoller Classic.
“I was excited to get the individual win today but I am more excited for the potential of the men’s squad,” Ford said. “The team looks to be the best squad in UTM history and we are looking to show that by OVCs.”
John Green placed fifth with a time of 24:54.7 for a personal record (PR) of his own while Luke McNair also posted a PR and top-10 finish at 25:20.4. The Skyhawks rounded out their scoring-five with Daniel Smith (25:29.7) and Will Oglesby (25:31.8; PR).
In the women’s 5k, Erica Fisher posted a top-10 finish for the Skyhawks by crossing ninth with a time of 18:39.1 to pace the team. Trailing close behind was Taylor Roy just two spots behind with a time of 18:48.9 for a new PR while freshman Annie Amundsen finished 15th in her collegiate debut with a time of 19:20.8.
Rounding out the scoring-five for the Skyhawks was Breanna Roy (19:47.0) and freshman Jillian Plotner (20:05.6).
“Both teams got out smart and moved well throughout the race, staying tough in the second half of the race,” UTM head coach Kevin Mangan said. “We are excited to race at a big meet in Florida in two weeks.”
UTM will return to competition on Friday, Feb. 5 when splitting the squad at the Florida State (FSU) Winter XC Classic and the Murray State Open.
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