TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Tackling the largest field in Crimson Classic history, the men’s cross country team landed themselves in fifth place at Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Senior Nathan Haskins led the team with a fifth place finish, garnering a personal best time of 24:27 in an 8k race.

Competing against 17 other schools with 148 total participants, the team looked sturdy against some of the top teams in the South, including host Alabama, the No. 5 ranked team in the country. Owls head coach Stan Sims knew the stakes were high but thought that the team proved how strong they are.

“The men looked good overall,” Sims said. “Haskins had a good showing and performed well. The younger guys looked strong. Being in the strength part of our training, things are definitely going as planned.”

Running in the race for only the second time, Haskins kept pace with the top runners from Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss. Finishing only 40 seconds behind the leader, Haskins improved by over a minute on his personal best time in a 8k. The overall winner would be host Alabama, followed by Ole Miss and Auburn in third.

“The race was really good for the team,” Haskins said. “It’s a good sign that once we get out of our strength phase and start getting speed in it will give us a big advantage. Personally, it was a great day for me. I just tried to run and not worry about the people I was running against or how fast I was going. I knew the guys in front of me were some of the tops in the nation and I just wanted to catch them.”

In their first meet of the season, junior Jaakko Nieminen (25:37) and sophomore Nabil Hamid (25:52) looked strong, coming in 21st and 29th, respectively. Rounding out the top five finishers for the Owls were senior Piotr Witczak at 33rd finishing in 26:01 and sophomore Ryan Burruss at 36th crossing the line in 26:17. Finally able to see competition this season, Nieminen was more than ready to run on Saturday.

“I was very excited to get back with the team and kick off my cross country season in Tuscaloosa,” Nieminen said. “The race was pretty good. I started off too fast but I am still in training mode and trying to focus on the main races of the season later on in the schedule. I am hoping to improve a lot over course of the season.”

The Owls will compete next at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky.,  Oct. 2.



Team Results

1. Alabama- 57 points

2. Ole Miss- 78 points

3. Texas A&M- 82 points

4. Auburn- 95 points

5. Kennesaw State- 108 points

6. Columbus State- 135 points

7. Miss. Valley State- 222 points

8. Troy- 250 points

9. Samford- 276 points

10. Tulane- 300 points

11. Alabama State – 316 points

12. West Alabama- 347 points

13. Chattahoochee Tech- 379 points

14. Nicholls State- 390 points

15. Huntingdon- 424 points

16. Alcorn State- 455 points

17. Stillman- 505 points

18. William Carey- 514 points


Individual Results

5. Nathan Haskins (24:27)

21. Jaakko Nieminen (25:37)

29. Nabil Hamid (25:52)

33. Piotr Witczak (26:01)

36. Ryan Burruss (26:17)

43. Steve Murray (26:42)

48. Zach Tupper (26:57)

59. Dylan Swafford (27:15)

89. Andrew Greeson (28:59)

92. Cole Jackob (29:09)

111. Kyle Pearson (30:30)