Minneapolis, MN –– Running in just his second race as a Don,
Alex Short paced USF at the Griak Invitational on Saturday afternoon, finishing the course in a time of 25:04.8 to earn a fifth-place finish overall.
Competing alongside over 200 runners, Short ran a great race and "effectively led the Dons up front," said head coach
Helen Lehman-Winters.
Ahead of Short, Jefferson Abbey of Colorado State won the 8K race with a time of 24:51.4. His teammate, Jerrell Mock, took home second place with a time of 24:55.6. In third place was Michael Vennard of Boise State (24:58.0) and finishing in fourth was Trent Lusignan of South Dakota State at 25:03.7.
USF ran a very competitive race, with
Matt Leach (25:41.8) finishing in 30th and
Mohamed Aziz (25:49.7) finishing in 37th. Behind those two were
Edward Shepherd in 41st with a time of 25:51.9 and
Ryan Driscoll in 42nd at 25:54.
Quentin Purtzer finished the course in a time of 27:19.7. The Dons finished in 7th overall among the 23 teams with an overall team time of 2:08.23.
"This was a quality field and this is a really challenging course, so we are pleased with how well they managed themselves throughout the race," Lehman-Winters said. "We have a lot of room for improvement but this is a good starting point."
UP NEXTThe Dons return to action on Oct. 9 when they will compete in the San Francisco State Invitational in Golden Gate Park.
Â
