Mercer Men, Women Take Fourth, Eighth at Strut’s

Friday, September 1

Jacksonville, Ala.

TBD

Mercer University

Strut's Season Opener

Results (PDF)

Mercer Men, Women Take Fourth, Eighth at Strut’s

9/2/2017 11:31:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Men's Results Women's Results

A pair of freshmen led both the men’s and women’s teams

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

OXFORD, Ala. – The Mercer men's and women's cross country teams placed fourth and eighth, respectively, on Friday at the Strut's Season Opener, hosted by Jacksonville State. Both events were held at the Oxford Lake & Recreation Park.

Mercer's men averaged 16 minutes and 35 seconds to complete the 5K event and were led by freshman Sean Parker, who placed 22nd with a 15:47.40 finish. Austin Bailey was the second Mercer men's runner to cross the finish line with a sub-16:30 finish. A total of six men competed for the Bears.

The men finished behind Red Division winner Georgia Tech, runner-up Troy and Alabama while placing ahead of Southern Conference foe Samford, Jacksonville State and Alabama State.

Mercer's women, who averaged 17:43 for their 4K event, were led by freshman Marina Van Sickle's 34th-place time of 16:13.10. Five Bears competed in the women's event.

Up Next
Both teams will gear up for the Furman XC Classic, held in Greenville, South Carolina on Sept. 9.

Men's 5K Results
22. Sean Parker, 15:47.40
33. Austin Bailey, 16:26.90
41. Mac Power, 16:49.40
54. Josiah Jaqua, 17:23.40
56. Fuad Batteh, 17:29.90
64. Ben Kiprotich, 19:03.30

Women's 4K Results
34. Marina Van Sickle, 16:13.10
44. Madison Cowart, 17:02.50
54. Bethanie Bailey, 17:54.80
58. Nidhi Shashidhara, 18:12.60
63. Sarah Maitland, 19:12.20

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Cross Country, follow the team at @MercerXCTF (Twitter) and visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.