JOPLIN, Mo. – Rogers State men's and women's cross country competed in the Southern Stampede on Saturday.
In the women's 5k race, RSU finished in eighth place with a total time of 1:31:59. With a top five average time of 18:24, they surpassed their time from two weeks ago at DBU and set a new school record for a 5k race. The Hillcats finished as the second highest MIAA and Central Region team in the field, only behind Central Missouri who finished sixth. They finished ahead of MIAA preseason favorite Pittsburg State as well as No. 29 Mississippi College and No. 30 Nebraska-Kearney.
Freshman Jillian Skalicky once again led RSU with a 21st place finish and a new school record 5k time of 17:51.7, nearly 17 seconds ahead of the previous record of 18:07.0 set by Brenda Felipe in 2012.
All top five Hillcat runners finished with new personal best times. Katie Byrd finished in 34th with a time of 18:10.3, which is good for third all-time in school history in 5k races. Brianna DeAngelis finished in 49th with a time of 18:28.8. Madison Bradshaw finished in 64th with a time of 18:41.8. Riley Coleman rounded out the top five in 69th with a time of 18:46.1.
In the men's 8k race, the Hillcats finished in 11th out of 21 teams with a total time of 2:12:34. They finished ahead of fellow MIAA teams Missouri Western and Newman.
Freshman Julius Oheim led RSU with a 34th place finish and a time of 25:44.3, which is good for seventh best in school history. Caden Goss finished in 51st with a time of 26:15.6. Garrison Blanton finished 61st with a time of 26:31.8. Jackson Stinnett finished in 68th with a time of 26:37.5. Kory Wilson rounded out the top five in 110th with a time of 27:24.5.
The Hillcats will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 1 as they travel to Columbia, Mo. to compete in the Gans Creek Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri.
