POTEAU, Okla. – The Murray State College cross country teams turned in impressive performances on Friday, with both the women's and men's teams earning second-place finishes in their first meet of the season at Carl Albert State College. Two Murray State runners also earned medals as Erica Frass set the program record with the highest individual finish as she claimed runner-up honors, while Halen Pannell earned his first medal as he finished in third place.

Women's Race – 5K

The Aggie women were led by freshman Erica Frass, who posted a time of 23:01.20 in her collegiate debut. She was followed closely by a tight pack of Lady Aggie runners, including Cheyanne Herrier (6th, 25:12.90), Christine Jebet Kurgat (8th, 26:08.20), Brynn Custar (9th, 26:23.80), and Dakota Logan (10th, 26:27.20). With five runners inside the top 10, Murray State secured a second-place team finish, trailing only Carl Albert State. Seminole State and Connors State rounded out the standings.

Freshman Carlee Gayler added a top-15 performance in 28:30.40, while Zoë Jones (29:38.40) and Cassi Matlack (32:47.00) provided valuable depth for the Lady Aggies.

Men's Race – 8K

On the men's side, Halen Pannell paced the Aggies with a strong third-place finish in 29:40.53, followed closely by Kaleb Madron in fourth at 30:05.08. Juan Flores rounded out the team's top three with a ninth-place finish in 34:22.44.

Additional solid efforts came from Shawn Weaver (11th, 34:53.64), Treygon Gehring (12th, 36:17.46), and Alex Gomez (14th, 37:48.66). Freshman Kameron Waller also contributed with a 38:27.82 finish.

Murray State earned a second-place team finish trailing only Carl Albert State. Connors State and Seminole State finished 3rd and fourth.

Head coach Justin Wagner praised both squads for their efforts and continued progress.

"I am really proud of our teams today. We challenged our team with the toughest course of the season as our first race, and they responded with tremendous effort and outstanding performances," Wagner said. "We are looking forward to another great week of practice this upcoming week in order to carry that momentum into our next race."

The Aggies return to action next Friday when they travel to Bentonville, Arkansas, for the NWACC XC Opener.


Assistant Sports Information Director: Jeremy Wagner | jwagner@mscok.edu
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