Texas Tech Cross Country Posts Strong Debut in Ruidoso
September 04, 2015 | Cross Country
Sept. 4, 2015
RUIDOSO, N.M. - The Red Raider cross country teams got off to a strong start to the 2015 season, hosting the Texas Tech Open at the Ruidoso Fitness Trail in Ruidoso, New Mexico.
The women's team picked up dual victories over New Mexico State (16-45), New Mexico (17-45) and Wayland Baptist (15-50), while falling to UTEP (29-28). The men's squad also picked up wins over New Mexico State (21-35), New Mexico (16-40), Wayland Baptist (18-45) and lost to UTEP (45-15).
"Great opening by both the men and the women at this meet," head coach Jon Murray said. "This meet was a low-key opportunity to show the amount of work each person did over the summer and I am pleased with their progress."
Freshman Hattie Schunk recorded the top time for the women's team in the 4523-meter run at 17:29.00. Her mark put her at third among all competitors from the five universities.
"Hattie's performance was impressive," Murray said. "This is her first cross country meet to ever run and she handled it well. There was some good competition for her and she handled it like a pro. I look forward to even greater progress in the future."
On the men's side, the Red Raider's top four finished in pairs, as junior Evans Tuitoek (21:11.48) and sophomore Miguel Batista (21:12.61) finished eighth and ninth overall, respectively. Sophomores Ebenether Wondaferew and Joacim Zuniga followed closely behind, registering times of 21:14.82 and 21:16.65, respectively.
"The impressive part of the men's team performance was how close they were together," Murray said. "To have this close of a gap from our top five will only help in any team competition. We now work on continuing our progress and conditioning."
Up next for the Red Raiders is the ACU Open on Sept. 18 in Abilene, Texas.
Players Mentioned
