TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sophomores Ryan Kinnane and Samantha Rogers led the Auburn charge Friday morning at the FSU XC Open at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
Out of 29 total teams competing, the men finished 10th and the women took home 11th.
Kinnane completed the course in 24:56.5 to take 37th on the individual leaderboard, a time that set a new career best time for Andover, Kansas native in the 8k, beating his previous top time of 25:14.4 set at the SEC Championships a year ago.
Led by Kinnane, the Auburn men collected 271 points en route to a top-ten overall finish. Senior Tommy McDonough trailed closely behind (25:01.3), followed by freshman Cooper Atkins (25:45.5), senior Jackson Thomas (25:59.8), sophomore Carson Bedics (26:05.4), junior Evan Rogers (27:28.0), freshman Benson Atkins (27.52.9) and freshman Mark Foster (28:33.2).
"Really hard effort from the men," said Tigers head coach Aaron Kindt. "I thought they did a good job of working through the first part of the race where there was a fall-through on the game plan. They really kept our gap close. I thought Ryan Kinnane and Tommy McDonough did a fantastic job running toward the front and establishing a good rhythm early. I thought Cooper (Atkins) ran a strong opening 8k race. He's been working hard to prepare over the course of this past week.
"I'm really pleased that the men passed their second test of the year, and I feel really good about where we're at for this part of the year."
Rogers nabbed 58th overall on the women's side, leading the Tigers to an 11th place team finish, scoring 317 points. The Auburn product completed the 6k course in 22:46.4.
Following Rogers at the finish line was junior Sara Pacer (22:54.8), senior Presley Weems (22:58.0), freshman Hallie Porterfield (23:14.4), freshman Hannah Thuss (23:29.8) and senior Louisa McPherson (23:50.4).
"For the women, we had a little bit of a mixed-bag performance," said Kindt, "but Samantha Rogers had a great bounce-back and led the way for us. Sara Pacer was very strong despite having a difficult summer with injuries. Presley (Weems), in her opener, went out a little hot with some of the leaders today and got herself into a little bit of trouble early, but she's a champ and she'll bounce back in the weeks to come.
"Definitely some work to do, but I thought the overall effort from the women was really good. We just have to find a way to get all of the girls consistent and be able to put together our best performance, one through seven. If we can do that, we'll have a really good team."
Next up for the men and women of Auburn cross country is the Notre Dame Invite in South Bend, Indiana. The action is set commence on Oct. 1.
2021 FSU XC Open
Apalachee Regional Park
Tallahassee, Fla.
Men's Results (8k)
10. Auburn, 271 points
Auburn Individual Results
37. Ryan Kinnane, 24:56.5
40. Tommy McDonough, 25:01.3
71. Cooper Atkins, 25:45.5
88. Jackson Thomas, 25:59.8
92. Carson Bedics, 26:05.4
160. Evan Rogers, 27:28.0
171. Benson Atkins, 27:52.9
199. Mark Foster, 28:33.2
Women's Results (6k)
11. Auburn, 317 pts
Auburn Individual Results
58. Samantha Rogers, 22:46.4
69. Sara Pacer, 22:54.8
73. Presley Weems, 22:58.0
84. Hallie Porterfield, 23:14.4
104. Hannah Thuss, 23:29.8
123. Louisa McPherson, 23:50.4
#WarEagle
Kinnane sets career best to lead Tigers at FSU XC Open
