TALLAHASSEE, FLA-  Due to a cancellation in last weekend's competition, the Thomas University Men's Cross Country team had a deja vu moment Friday morning as the Green and White competed in the annual FSU XC Invitational hosted by Florida State University. TU also ran on this course three weeks ago for their first ever home meet. Thomas took advantage of being familiar with the course, as several Night Hawks boasted new personal times.

 

HIGHLIGHTS: TU had a glimpse of several NCAA DI opponents, which helped them gain valuable experience for post season action. Junior Justin Tomison recorded the fastest time by a Night Hawk at the FSU XC Invitational as the Buxton, ME native took 143rd place with a time of 27:05.3. Freshman Justin Hernandez notched his first collegiate personal record, taking 195th place with a time of 27:51.5. Freshman Landon Watts notched a new personal record as the Bainbridge, Ga native took 247th place with a time of 28:56.9. Sophomore Elias Lopez- Gomez boasted a new personal record, taking 257th place with a time of 29:08.3. Freshman David Morrison secured a new personal record, taking 267th with a time of 29:34.9. Freshman Vijay Weedon notched a new personal record, taking 273rd place with a time of 29:47.8. Senior Andrew Stone concluded Thomas' lineup by securing a new personal record, taking 280th place with a time of 30:24.4.

 

WHAT'S NEXT: The Night Hawks will have two weeks to rest and prepare for their next race for the Alabama-Huntsville Invitational on October 22nd in Huntsville, Ala.

 

"Our team competed in the largest and most competitive cross country meet the Night Hawks has ever seen in program history." said Head Coach Scott Gowan. "We had outstanding performances across the board." There were several D1 schools in the field and our athletes got out there and didn't back down from the challenge." "We gained valuable experiences today that will help us down the road for postseason competition in the SUN Conference Championship next month."

 

NIGHT HAWKS BY THE NUMBERS:

 

Justin Tomison: 27:05.3 (143rd place)

Justin Hernandez: 27:51.5 (195th place)

Landon Watts: 28:56.9 (247th place)

Elias Lopez-Gomez: 29:08.3(257th place )  

David Morrison: 29:34.9 (267th place) 

Vijay Weedon: 29:47.8 (273rd place)

Andrew Stone: 30:24.4. (280th place)

 

The Men's placed 29th overall as a team.

 

RESULTS

For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU Men's cross country team by following them via Twitter at @TUXCTF1.