Auburn Cross Country Teams Dominate Season Opener
Men's Results l Women's Results
September 11, 2004
Andrew Heath |
Atlanta, Ga. - The 2004 Auburn men and women's cross country teams kicked off the season with team and individual victories at the Georgia State Invitational held on the Panthersville course Saturday morning.
The Tiger men dominated the field as they took the top seven spots and earned the team title with 15 points over second place Georgia Tech (63 points). Andrew Heath ran the hilly 8K in 25:35.14 to earn in the individual title. In his first competition in an Auburn uniform, freshman transfer Chris Walsh placed second behind Heath with a time of 25:40.03.
"I was very pleased with our performance on the men's side," head cross country coach Chris Fox commented. "They exceeded my expectations and it shows the progress that we have made since last season."
Rounding out the remaining top seven spots was David Riddle (3rd, 25:40.68), Chris George (4th, 25:55.53), Patrick Philbin (5th, 26:01.50), Patrick Mouser (6th, 26:09.56) and Matt Tillman (7th, 26:20.07). Also competing for Auburn was Jordan Davis (9th), Alan Burnie (11th) and Clay Askew (22nd).
On the women's side, junior Angela Homan continued to pace her team and dominate the field as she finished the 5K in 17:20.24, more than a minute ahead of the second place finisher from Troy University. Dawn Morgan had her best finish as a Tiger, placing third with a time of 18:39.57. The women's team also took home a team victory with 39 points, ahead of the Yellow Jackets who earned 50.
"We did not compete with a full team on the women's side, but I think those that did compete did a great job," Fox said. "Angela Homan continues to roll and Dawn Morgan stepped it up in this race. We will be traveling with a full squad for our next meet in two weeks."
Kylee Swanson was also a top-five finisher with a time of 18:48.99. Also competing for Auburn was Danielle Keplinger (13th), Becca Bell (17th), Jessica Smith (19th), McKenzie Fox (21st), Tatum Wilbanks (24th) and Emily Tanner (32nd).
The teams will take next week off from competition before traveling to Bethlehem, Penn., on Sept. 25 for the Paul Short Invitational.