HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – On a chilly, yet sunny day in Alabama, the men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up the 2021 campaign at the NCAA South Regional race. The women's team finished 26th overall in the 6K against a talented pool of runners from the likes of Ole Miss, Florida State and Alabama among others. In the men's 10K, the squad finished in 25th place.
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Madlen Kappeler and
Preston Dunn led their respective sides once again, as they have done so all season. Dunn came about 30 seconds away from breaking the school record, clocking in at 33:21.22 for the second fastest 10K time in program history.
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Women (6K)
- Kappeler logged 94th place out of 225 runners to lead the Owls with a time of 22:12.10
- Paige Saiz completed an impressive personal record time of 22:52.43 to follow Kappeler in 138th
- Jordan Stevens was the third Owl to cross the line, clocking in at 23:40.04 for 174th place
- Morgan Sharp tallied the fourth spot for FAU with a time of 24:35.70 for 199th place, as Alexis Hill finished right behind her in 200th with a mark of 24:36.17
- The team's 26th place finish at 751 points was 17 points behind 25th-place Alcorn State
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Men (10K)
- This race marked the first time in two years the squad has ran the 10K amid cross country season
- Dunn logged 125th place out of 175 runners to lead the team with a personal record time of 33:21.22. His time also became second fastest in school history
- Rory Carmody followed in 158th place to shave off nearly two minutes from his previous best 10K time he achieved as a freshman. He finished in 35:41.54
- Bodey Miller was the third Owl finisher at 36:13.91 for 163rd place. Jericho Cooey followed right behind Miller for 164th place (36:24.46)
- Matthew Labrato was the fifth Owl to finish at 36:52.18 for 166th place
- FAU came in 25th place overall with 723 points, which was just six behind 24th-place Jacksonville State
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On the Women's Team:
"I'm so proud of our team members! We were severely shorthanded today, as we missed two of our top six runners," said head coach
Alex Smolka. "Our remaining team members stepped up in a huge way and ran for each other, our program and our university! We were able to compete well, and once again reaffirm that our program is on the rise. Two of our team members ran their last cross-country meet in an Owl singles, and they represented us extremely well. Their future is very bright! We're excited to take a little break and get ready for our indoor season. GO OWLS!"
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On the Men's Team:
"Our men improved throughout the entire season. We had a number of runners race their first 10k this morning, the others sent new PR's and Preston [Dunn] came very close to breaking our school record! We're proud of their commitment, work ethic, detection and love for the sport and our university."
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The women's team will now gear up for track & field season. The indoor and outdoor schedules will be released soon.
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