WKU rang in its 2021 cross country season with both its men’s and women’s programs placing in the top-10 at the Memphis Twilight Classic.

The women’s program finished in fifth place out of 22 competing programs with an average 5K time of 18:55.17. The team was paced by Savannah Heckman, who finished night seventh out of 193 total runners and set a new PR of 17:54.66. Lucy Rutherford turned in a PR of her own, placing 24th with a time of 18:35.51. Freshman Elyssa Toal came in 32nd overall with a mark of 18:59.91.

“I’m really proud of how the women performed tonight,” cross country head coach Brooks LeCompte said after the meet. “Placing fifth as a team against this level of competition speaks volumes to the work they’ve put in over the summer months. Savannah [Heckman] ran extremely well, leading us with a seventh-place finish. I can’t be more excited for them.”

Dedrick Troxell set a PR of 20:11.02 and finished 17th out of the 211 runners on the men’s side, which finished in ninth place overall. Keegan Barnette earned a top-50 finish in his first meet competing for WKU, coming home 41st and turning in a time of 20:46.17.

“The guys ran solid and kept close to each other. We will have to keep progressing together as a group and I see big things ahead for them as the season continues,” LeCompte said.

WKU will take close to a two-week break before it turns its attention to the Commodore Classic hosted by Vanderbilt on Friday, Sept. 17.

Women’s Results

5^th – Team – 18:55.17 avg.

7^th – Savannah Heckman – 17:54.66 (PR)

24^th – Lucy Rutherford – 18:35.51 (PR)

32^nd – Elyssa Toal – 18:59.91

53^rd – Mary Dye – 19:32.68

54^th – Rory O’Connor – 19:33.09

92^nd – Maddy Hurt – 20:23.86

118^th – Madeline Powell – 20:58.97

140^th – Abigail Green – 21:46.03

142^nd – Jenna Vaughn – 21:51.34

166^th – Lauren Dowd – 23:09.78

Men’s Results

9^th – Team – 21:06.94 avg.

17^th – Dedrick Troxell – 20:11.02 (PR)

41^st – Keegan Barnette – 20:46.17

68^th – Brad Wiggins – 21:19.17

80^th – Will Perrone – 21:37.18

84^th – Trey Kraimer – 21:41.16

85^th – Miles Huff – 21:41.18

99^th – Collin Pruitt – 21:58.79

141^st – Jordan Eddy – 22:46.51

153^rd – Steven Votaw – 23:10.67

Sports Editor Jake Moore can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Charles_JMoore.