Bailey's "Cubs" Get Spotlight at Georgia State Invitational

Women's Results

Men's Results

HAMPTON, Ga. – Mercer University head coach Ryan Bailey gave his varsity reserves the opportunity to showcase their skills on Friday afternoon at the Georgia State University Invitational cross country meet. A total of four out of the Bears’ nine runners were lacing it up for the first time under Bailey’s tutelage in the races at Nash Farms Battlefield Park.

In the men’s 8K event, junior Nick Huguenard finished 25^th overall (out of 57 runners) in a time of 31:15.23.  Freshman Taylor Garrett, from Ft. Myers, Fla. was clocked at 32:56.62 in his first time out in the Orange & Black, and was 36^th in the race.

Redshirt junior Andrew Jones was the Bears’ third and final men’s finisher at 33:30.02, 40^th place overall.

"Only four men suited up today," said Bailey. "I wanted the guys to sort themselves out and show me who would take those last spots on the travel team. Nick Huguenard ran well and I wasn't surprised to see him lead Mercer's men. He's had a couple of really good runs in practice lately. 

"Taylor Garrett has never run an 8K in competition before. I thought his debut was pretty solid. He didn't let the pack lead him out too quickly and he ran reasonable splits. Andrew Jones is trying to overcome  problematic summer training, but knowing him, it won't be long before he gets back into fighting trim. Chris Crook did not finish the race due to a heat related issue."

On the women’s side, freshmen Kylen Hughes and Ali Rieger finished the 5K course in 23:22.30 and 24:37.45, respectively. Hughes finished 24th overall, while Rieger’s efforts earned her a 34^th place (out of 63 female runners). Sophomore Lesa Webber’s 24:41.91 earned her a 35^th place right behind her teammate. Sophomore Hannah Stark was 39^th overall (26:18.26).

A trio of Mercer harriers occupied the 41^st , 42^nd and 43^rd positions to round out MU’s participants. The three Bears included freshman Caley Cranford (26:32.35), senior Jenna Jackson (26:34.65) and junior Amalia Bugge (26:36.17). Bugge, who also plays tennis for Mercer, was running her first-ever collegiate cross country race.

"I scheduled this meet in order to determine the last couple of spots for the traveling team," said Bailey. "Up until today, I can honestly say I wasn't sure who would rise to the occasion. I was pleasantly surprised by Kylen's performance because she has been dealing with a minor injury and her practices haven't been completely consistent. She went out a little too fast today, but was able to hold herself together through the race and finished pretty respectably.

"Ali Rieger and Alesa Webber really showed some grit today. Rieger led Webber from wire to wire, but Alesa wouldn't let her get away. It was an exciting battle to watch. For four of the seven girls, this was their first collegiate race. It was a tough way to start, but they handled it well." 

Mercer’s full squad will be on display next Saturday, Sept. 18 when it hosts the RunFit Sports Invitational at the Georgia Industrial Children’s Home in Macon. The men’s 8K race begins at 9 a.m., followed by the women’s 5K at 9:40 a.m.