Veterans Have Strong Showing at Rocky Mountain Shootout

Saturday, October 3

Boulder, Colo.

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Rocky Mountain Shootout

Photo by: Ed Navarro

10/3/2015 1:36:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country

By: UNCBears.com

Men's Results
Women's Results

BOULDER, Colo. – The men's and women's cross country team competed in its third regular season meet of the fall at the Rocky Mountain Shootout Saturday morning.

The men's team took third place overall and the women finished fourth. Each team continues to make strides as the season progresses under first year cross country coach Trent Mack.

"I thought we competed with the right effort today and we definitely approached the race with the right mentality," Mack said. "At the same time, it's that midpoint of the season when a lot of the training can catch up with you and take a toll on some people. I felt some went into the race recovered from the last two weeks of training, but some were still a little fatigued."

Junior Kingston Wagner paved the way for the men's squad taking 15th in the Division I 8K with a time of 28:04. Wagner bested his time from last season's shootout by eight seconds.

Four seconds behind Wagner was freshman Tristan Irish, crossing the finish line in 28:08. Irish claimed 16th place on the DI leaderboard.

Fellow freshman Keaton Duncan had the next best finish for Northern Colorado. Duncan ran his way to a 28:16 finish, taking 17th overall.

Freshmen Lucas Mielke and Nick Bailey rounded out the top five scorers for the Bears. Mielke (18th) and Bailey (19th) posted times of 29.42 and 29:58, respectively.

Other times for the men's team included Jacob Higa with a 30:20 and Tim Corrie with a final time of 30:42.

"Kingston Wagner is starting to reflect his training in his racing results and is making progress every week," Mack said of the men's team. "Tristan Irish has been very consistent in his 8K results and is racing very well for his freshman season."

The women's team had two place in the Top 15 among Division I runners.

Veteran Caroline Braun paced the team, capturing an 8th place finish, running the 5.8K in 22:07, and improving on her time from the last meet by nearly a minute. This is the third straight meet where Braun has secured a Top 25 finish.

Taking 11th place was newcomer Erin Thomas. The freshman continues to make waves, tallying a 22:18 time.

The third best time for the Bears came from fellow freshman Cammy Sargent. Sargent produced a final time of 23:08, racking up a Top 25 finish, coming in 20th among the D1 runners.

Senior Makayla Gray (21st) and freshman Alicia Thompson (22nd) capped off the women's top five racers. Gray crossed the finish line in 23:11, while Thompson came across five seconds later in 23:16.

Other times for the women's team included Cami Kennedy with a 24:32 and Carly Browning with a 24:33, Sally Filatova finished with a 25:12, and Morgan Bloyer ended her day with a 25:13, respectively.

"Senior Caroline Braun has now put three strong races in a row together," Mack added about the women's team. "Having that consistency helps a lot with a young team. Erin Thomas continues to run well up front for us and has made a major impact as a freshman."

The cross country teams travel to California for their final regular season meet of the year before the Big Sky Conference Championship, running in the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational on Oct. 17