PREVIEW: Men's Cross Country to Host Dallas Invitational
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas cross country teams will hit the trails on its own campus this Saturday, October 17. The women's cross country competition begins at 9 a.m. and the men's cross country runners' line up for a 10 a.m. start time.
The course begins on the University of Dallas men's lacrosse field and will wrap take participants through the woods beyond the baseball bleachers. Once the racers appear at the bottom of the hill, the course also includes circling the length of the baseball, soccer, and softball complex, before arriving at the top of the Lacrosse pitch again. Runners will have to venture this lap twice to complete the 5K.
Highlighting the women's side is freshman Bridgett Kennedy (San Antonio, Texas). She has finished atop the UD individual rankings in her last three competitions. The rookie has set season personal records (PRs) in the 5K at the Codfish Bowl with a 20:00 minute result, and 6K at the Texas Division III Championship with a 24:05 time. Her most recent result reflected a third place finish and was about 20 seconds off the school record.
Senior Ruth Fritz (Boise, Idaho) also claimed 12th in the 6K at the Division III Championship with a 25:15score. Her and classmate Emma Polefko (Cypress, Texas) will be racing in their final home competition for the Lady Crusaders.
The UD men's cross country team is headlined by senior Ryan McAnany (Kansas City, Kan.) who has paced the squad with individual bests in each of the four meets this fall campaign. McAnany, who holds the school record 5K (16:07 minutes), has currently put up a season PR in the same distance race this season with 16:19 time. His previous two competitions have been 8Ks, with the most recent at the Texas Division III Championship being a 27:39 and a fourth place finish overall. He ranked second among the DIII opponents.
He also headlines a quartet of seniors on the men team that will be suiting up one final time at home for the Dallas Crusaders including: Jack Grubner (Needham, Mass.), Javier Secaira (Tacoma, Wash.), and Zach Zendt (Belton, Texas).
Grubner and Secaira have completed the most recent 5K in the University of Texas at Arlington Cross Country Invite with nearly identical times. Secaira hit an 18:15 while Grubner clocked in an 18:18 score. Zendt made his fall debut in the 8K two weeks ago and posted a 34:12.
Other schools that will be competing are as follows: LeTourneau University, Austin College, University of Texas at Dallas, Hardin-Simmons University, East Texas Baptist University, Sul Ross State University, Texas Lutheran University, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Wiley College, and Paul Quinn College.
View official 2015 Dallas Cross Country Invitational Information Guide