The Maroons had an impressive showing at the Roanoke Cross Country Invitational held at Green Hill Park in Salem, Virginia. The team placed five runners in the top 50 and achieved several personal-best times, securing fourth place overall with a total of 114 points in the 8K race. Freshman Seth Perry led the Maroons with a season-best time of 26:07.4, finishing 30th overall and scoring 17 points. Ian Fellows followed closely, finishing 31st with a time of 26:13.9, contributing 18 points. Matt Garis also set a personal record, placing 38th and scoring 23 points with a time of 26:30.6. Two more freshmen, Elias Ammon and Gabe Ramirez, completed the scoring with season-best times. Ammon finished 43rd with a time of 26:37.6, earning 26 points, while Ramirez finished 48th with a time of 27:03.0, adding 30 points. Additionally, five more Maroons runners placed in the top half of the field: Sam Brasler (27:06.7, 53rd), Garrett Weaver (27:08.7, 54th), Josh Woodley (27:24.7, 59th), Jackson Coombes (27:26.3, 60th), and Levi Counts (27:55.1, 69th). The times recorded by Perry, Fellows, Garis, and Ammon now rank among the Top 25 in program history for 8K races. Division I team Radford claimed the team title with 31 points, followed by Lynchburg in second place and Pfeiffer in third.
Head Coach Derek Workman expressed his excitement about the team’s performance, particularly noting the achievement of having ten runners break the 28:00 mark, a significant improvement from the previous year. He stated “Top four under 26:40 – a lot to be excited about today! Very excited about 10 guys breaking 28:00; we only had one time last year where any of our guys broke 28:00, let alone 10 on the same day. Excited about the championship season over the next month!” Coach Workman also praised the conditions at Green Hill Park, highlighting the fast, newly revamped course and the positive feedback from athletes, coaches, and spectators. He expressed optimism for the upcoming ODAC championship race, which Roanoke will host at Green Hill Park on Saturday, November 2. Overall, the Maroons’ performance at the Roanoke Cross Country Invitational was a promising indicator of their potential as they head into the championship season.
Mariana Hanlin
Staff Reporter
