Cross Country squads head to Pre-Nationals this weekend

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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State Cross Country travels north to run in the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., hosted by Indiana State. The event will include 63 teams on the men's side and 70 on the women's, with eight regionally-ranked teams competing on each side of the races the Eagles are running in.

The meet will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. The top seven Eagle women will compete in the 6K race at 12:15 p.m. ET, while the top seven MSU men will be in the 8K race at 12:50 p.m. All other Eagle runners will be in the open races, which take place at 1:30 and 2:05 p.m.

"We are looking forward to competing with some of the best teams in the nation," said head coach Stephen Picucci. "This will be a good measuring stick for us and what we need to improve on heading forward this year." 

The Eagle men finished 14th out of 33 teams two weeks ago at the Greater Louisville Classic. The men were led by freshman Farah Abdulkarim, who finished 26th out of 312 runners after covering the course in 24:37.96. Sophomore Justin Moakler finished second on the team, running 24:48.43, finishing 37th. Sophomore Corey Tooke (25:26.00) and junior Dylan Rich (25:49.90) were next in line for the Eagles.

Running for the Eagle men will be: Abdulkarim, Moakler, Tooke, and Rich, along with senior Jesse Moreno, juniors Hunter Trenary and Iszack Whitsell, sophomores Grayson Brookshire, Jordan Carrington, and Shane Rigsby, and freshmen Jarrett Mattingly and Aaron Wier.

Senior Alex Morris led the Morehead State women, finishing the 5K course in 18:14.3. Sophomore Kansas Greenwell finished second on the team with a time of 18:54.7, and she was followed by freshmen Caitlin Cunningham (18:55.1) and Abbigail Dorn (18:56.9). Senior Mackenzie Butler (19:00.6) rounded out the top five for the Eagles at the Greater Louisville Classic.

Running for the MSU women will be Morris, Greenwell, Cunningham, Dorn, and Butler, along with seniors Hannah Bailey and Erica Parks, sophomores Lauren Best, Gloria Corona-Luna, and Mya Faris, and freshmen Alison Chinn and Sierra Poppell.