RSU Cross Country Tackles Tough Course

Roger State’s inaugural cross country team dug deep through their toughest challenge of the early season. The Hillcat men and women finished 17th and 27th respectively at the Cowboy Jamboree on the campus of Oklahoma State University, Saturday morning.

Up first were the women races with duo Kendall Clement and Jessie Zingo leading the way for the Hillcats. After breezing through the first mile the OSU soon began to reveal itself taking the runners through staggering hills and gullies growing more intense by the third mile.

“It was all mental,” said Clement.

“It was tough to have a lot of kick left since you had just pushed up all those other hills,” said Zingo.

Clement recorded the best time for the RSU women, placing 117th with a time of 22:11 followed by Jessie Zingo finishing with a time of 22:28, earning 125th out of over 200 runners.

Sophomore Breana Harrison took 163rd with a time of 24:56 and freshman Tiffany Russell finished 174 with a time of 26:23. Softball senior Brittany White rounded out the scoring for the Hillcat women with a time of 26:51, placing 179.

Next up were the men races. The Hillcat men also felt the challenges of the course while managing to stay close to their personal times.

Junior Caleb Clark led the way for the Hillcat men finishing 13th overall out of over 200 runners with a time of 26:33. Brandon Payne was the runner up for the Hillcats placing 75th with a time of 28:30.

Freshman Oscar Reyes finished with a time of 30:17 placing 117. Josh Maggard placed 148th with a time of 38:44 and Josh Phillipi rounded out the scoring with a time of 38:40 placing 149.

“We did pretty good,” said Payne. “We’re trying to just stay consistent with our times.

Though the Hillcats were looking to make better time, running a course like OSU’s was not easy.

“The fact that it was a much tougher course than last week, I thought they did good so I was definitely happy with the team’s score,” said Chris McCormick, RSU cross country coach.

“Getting a course like this out the way gives us high hopes of what’s to come,” added Clement.

RSU cross country will get a two week layoff before hitting the trails again Oct. 9 at the OBU Bison Cross Country Invitational.

(Photo by gssphotography.com)