Cross country runs in UNO Invitational

The Nicholls State University cross country program began its 2017 season at the University of
New Orleans Invitational on Friday.

Out of six teams competing in the race, the men’s cross country team earned sixth place and the
women’s cross country team earned fourth place.

Head coach Stefanie Slekis said that the team did not allow the weather and poor course
conditions that resulted from Hurricane Harvey to hinder the team's running.

Slekis said, “The course was actually pretty dry, but the middle of the park was kind of wet.”
She also said that cross country courses are typically not completely dry when they race, so there
was nothing unusual about the condition of the course.

Even though the teams did not come out on top, Slekis said she appreciated the work put in by
her runners. “It was a great opener for our team. We have a lot of newcomers, and I was really excited for our
women to beat our Southland Conference opponent, UNO.”

Individually for the men’s team, freshman John Paul Spera finished first on the team and 32nd
overall with a 5K time of 18:30.39. Redshirt freshman Trey Lowery finished second on the team
and 38th overall with a 5K time of 19:03.60.

The rest of the team included freshman Tristan Breaux (41st with 20:41.32) and sophomores
Teril Cooper (42nd with 20:43.01) and Daryl Cooper (47th with 23:58.26).

For the women’s team, senior Hannah Naquin finished first on the team and 18th overall with a
5K time of 20:50.46. She was followed by redshirt junior Courtney Troxclair, who finished
second on the team and 23rd overall with a 5K time of 22:47.78.

The remainder of the squad included freshman Eleana Callejas (26th with 22:59.77), redshirt
sophomore Taylor Douglas (28th with 23:53.22) and senior Lucija Barac (30th with 25:17.46).
The Colonels will race again on Sept. 16 in the LSU Invitational. The women will race at 7:30
a.m. followed by the men at 8:10 a.m.