Chattanooga, TN – Freshman Martin Rejman earned a top-10 finish but the going was tough for Austin Peay State University men’s cross country team in Friday’s Powerade Invitational, hosted by Chattanooga at Moccasin Bend.
Rejman placed 10th with a 16:13.23 mark, closely followed by classmates Daniel Hamm (16:40.40, 13th), Alex Haycraft (17:03.31, 14th) and Kyle Harmon (17:06.74, 15th) – the kind of pack mentality the Govs displayed in Memphis last week and that head coach Doug Molnar is encouraged by in his young squad.
Competing in his first race after missing last week’s Brooks Memphis Twilight, senior Tyler Kepley rounded out the Govs scoring five with a 17:27.73 mark, good for 17th. Freshmen Hunter Guthrie (17:29.30, 18th), Thomas Owen (18:23.61, 21st) and Nathan Sparks (19:13.06, 22nd) also saw action for the Govs.
“I think we ran pretty well,” Molnar said. “There was definitely improvement from last week to this week. We were up against a couple of senior-laden teams in Chattanooga and Middle Tennessee and I think we did well.”
Austin Peay will run its third race in three weekend’s at next week’s Vanderbilt Invitational at Percy Warner Park, which will mark the mid-point of the cross country season. The men’s race is scheduled for 9:00am.
