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.

On the women’s side, freshman Ali Rieger finished the 5K course in 24:37.45. 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.

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.