Both men’s and women’s Mountaineer cross country teams secured first place Friday at the Wildcat Invite. 

“Like many students on campus, this fall, the team has been hit with flu and flu-like symptoms that have held them back from training,” said head coach Michael Curcio. “So it was nice for a group that missed a few meets to get back on track so to speak. The whole staff was pleased with the effort.”

In the women’s 5K, sophomore Annie Amundsen ran a blazing 18:48.7 to claim silver.  Next for App State was sophomore Kirstin Towle in third place with a time of 19:04.8. Senior Abby Lee set her personal record of 19:07.6 to earn fourth, and freshman Reilly Barber took sixth with a time of 19:09.5. In ninth place was sophomore Catherine Breault with a 19:42.2, while sophomore Abby Granberg was the sixth Mountaineer to place in the top-10 when she ran a 19:43.9 and finished in 10th. 

Senior Caleb Kirchhoff paced the Mountaineers in the men’s 8K. He finished in sixth place after notching a time of 25:36.3. Junior Ben Datte zoomed to seventh place after recording a time of 25:38.2, while sophomore Calbert Guest placed eighth when he ran a 25:41.7. Jonah Morris hit his personal record of 25:44.0 to finish ninth, and senior Jonah Bird continued the good day for the Jonahs when his 25:52.0 time logged him 13th place. 

The Mountaineer runners will look to close out this season in style when they head to Foley, Alabama for the Sun Belt Cross Country Championships Oct. 29. 

“This meet offered an opportunity for some of our team to get in additional competition  as the regular season comes to a close,” Curcio said. “It also helps us finalize our championship rosters leading into the Sun Belt Championships next weekend in Foley, Alabama.”