Sept. 15, 2012
MOBILE, Ala. - Auburn cross country took home the event titles in both the men's and women's races for the second-straight week on Saturday, this time at the Azalea City Classic hosted by South Alabama.
"Really pleased with how both teams ran today," Auburn cross country coach Mark Carroll said. "I'm happy we were able to keep our strong start to the season going with another pair of team wins, but I'm also happy we made it through another week injury free."
The Auburn men once again cruised to an easy victory with all five scorers finishing in the top eight of the 8k race. Sophomores Kane Grimster (second place, 25:26.50) and Niklas Buhner (third place, 25:33.35) crossed the finish line behind Joash Osoro (24:37.28) of William Carey University.
Francis Hernandez was fifth for the Tigers in 25:53.03, while Samuel Mueller (26:01.13) finished seventh and Griffin Jaworski (26:06.14) was eighth. Jason Miller (11th, 26:17.97) and Hunter Hayes (15th, 26:36.82) also enjoyed top 15 finishes.
The marks by Grimster, Jaworski, Miller and Hayes were each new personal bests in the 8,000 kilometer race.
By virtue of the five top-eight finishers, Auburn cruised to a team win with 22 points ahead of second-place South Alabama with 58.
Saturday also brought a third-straight strong run by the Auburn women's team. The five scorers for the Tigers each finished in the top 12 with junior Alissa Fisher leading the charge. The Huntsville native was third in 22:20.58.
Sophomore Erin Fondren established a new personal-best mark of 22:34.21 in the first 6k run of the season as she finished in 5th place overall. A pair of freshmen running their first collegiate 6k also scored in Taylor Duncan (7th, 22:55.76) and Sage Blackwell (9th, 23:09.47).
Junior Lizzie Briasco rounded out the scoring in 12th place with a mark of 23:21.85.
Auburn took the top team spot with 36 points ahead of host South Alabama's 63 points.
The Tigers are in action next on Sept. 29 at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky. For the latest on Auburn cross country, follow @AUTrack on Twitter.