Owls Win 5K Race in Tallahassee

Saturday, September 17

Tallahassee, Fla.

7 a.m.

Florida Atlantic

Thomas Invitational

9/17/2022 10:51:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's XC/Track & Field

Results

By: Ben Paul, FAU Student

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men's and women's cross country teams raced in the Thomas University Invitational on Saturday morning. The men ran the 8K and the women ran the 5K. The women's team came out on top in the 5K with both a first-place finish by Madlen Kappeler and the top team score. Kappeler and fifth place finisher Casey O'Connor both received medals as top 10 finishers.

Coach Smolka's Take

Head Coach Alex Smolka on the women's victory in the 5K
"It's awesome for this group of young women to collect some hardware and see their hard work pay off. Today just fuels their desire to continue to get faster! The taste of success is infectious and we'll be able to build on today's results. This is a great group and it's extremely fun and exciting to witness them getting faster individually and more connected. We are continuing to work hard to maximize our potential and the future looks bright! Congrats to Casey for her fifth-place finish and to Madlen for the overall race victory! Go Owls!"

On the men's 8K race
"All of our new team members experienced their first 8K cross country race this morning, since they only ran 5K's in high school. Our returners ran solid races as their season opener. Overall, this morning was a good starting point and we'll improve from here. We have some work to do, but everyone is excited and willing to do what it takes to improve!"

Quick Hits

Women (5K)

The women's team placed in first out of 12 teams with 46 points
Kappeler stood out once again, finishing in first place in a field of 113 runners (18:23.6)
O'Connor finished in fifth place with a new personal best (18:52.7)
Erin Shannon was the next Owl to cross the finish line with a time of 19:36, finishing in 14th place
Holly Arrison rounded off the top 20 with a time of 19:55

Men (8K)

The men's team placed in eighth out of 10 teams with 203 points
Logan Sallas was the team's top finisher with a time of 27:31.1, good for 16th place in a field of 94 runners
Christopher Jones in his first race with the team finished in 43rd place (29:27.7)

Upcoming

The Owls will look to build off of this race at the eighth annual FAU Invitational on Sept. 30.

Owls on Social Media

For complete coverage of FAU cross country and track & field, follow us on Twitter (@FAUXCTF), Instagram (@FAUXCTF) and Facebook (FAU XC/Track & Field).