The men’s and women’s cross-country teams for USAO competed at the Muthama-Rogers Invitational, which was hosted by Bethel College. The Drovers had 11 combined runners for the meet, which consisted of seven men and four women.
USAO’s men’s team finished 8th out of the nine competing teams for the 8K run at the Muthama-Rogers Invitational. Their team consisted of Tyrike Cunningham, Hunter Dewall, Ryan Joseph, Brayden Keller, Colby Keller, Quintin Pennells, and Aarin Simon.
Out of the Drovers, Simon had the fastest time with 32:48 minutes, earning him a 58th place overall. Dewall had the second fastest time for the men posting 35 minutes flat, and Cunningham was close behind him with a time of 35:20 minutes. Joseph finished the race in 37:04. The Drovers placed 72nd, 74th, and 81st respectively.
Pennells and B. Keller had only two-tenths of a second separate their times for this event, with Pennell’s time being at 38:08.8 minutes and B. Keller’s time being 38:09 minutes. C. Keller finished his performance with a time of 44:15 minutes. Pennells and B. Keller finished in 86th and 87th place, while C. Keller placed 94th.
USAO’s women’s team did not have a team score, since they only had four runners for the 5K event. Trinity Albao-Cozad, Laura Barrios-Bardi, Savannah Creech, and Chelsea Fuston represented USAO for this cross-country meet. In her first performance of the season, Albao-Cozad was the first Drover to finish, recording a time of 25:31 minutes. She placed 41st overall at the Muthama-Rogers Invitational.
Barrios-Bardi and Creech had a similar finish to their race, with Barrios-Bardi having a time of 27:49 minutes and Creech having a time of 27:51 minutes. The Drovers finished in 50th and 51st place overall. Fuston recorded a time of 31:38 minutes, which placed her 57th.
Although none of the men achieved a personal record for time, all of them did finish the race, with Joseph, Pennells, and the Keller brothers posting their first times of the season. This meet was the first official recorded times for the women’s team since their times were not recorded when they competed at the Aggie Duels earlier this season.
The Drovers will lace up their shoes to compete again Saturday, Oct. 7 at the University of the Ozarks Invitational in Ozarks, ARK.
Gary Jackson is a third-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
