Dominant Showing by No. 9/11 Cross Country at Nicholls XC Invitational

Saturday, September 28

Thibodaux, La. / Nicholls Farm

Alabama

Nicholls XC Invitational

Dominant Showing by No. 9/11 Cross Country at Nicholls XC Invitational

9/28/2024 1:13:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country

Final Results

Multiple top-five, individual finishes propelled the Crimson Tide men and women to first and second place, respectively, in the team standings

THIBODAUX, La. – The No. 9/11 Alabama men's and women's cross country teams used a dominant showing Saturday morning as the season continued at the sixth annual Nicholls XC Invitational. Joel Gardner claimed the men's crown via a 19:14.48 run across the 4-mile course, as five total UA student-athletes clocked top-five finishes to propel the Crimson Tide to a first and second-place finish in the men's and women's races, respectively.

Joining Gardner in the top four of the men's 4-mile race was Arthur Graham (19:33.54 | third) and Dylan Wood (19:38.45 | fourth), while Autumn Headrick (18:01.84 | third) finished ahead of Meriel Rowland (18:04.18 | fourth) in the women's 5k race.

The No. 11 UA women concluded the day with a 53-point, second-place team finish as all five scoring runners for Alabama finished in the top 25. Newcomer Avery Ruesch (18:34.37 | 12^th), freshman Catherine Johnstone (18:40.42 | 13^th) and sophomore Taylor McCue (19:07.91 | 21^st) rounded out the Tide's scoring five in the women's 5k.

The No. 9-ranked Crimson Tide men needed only 17 points to take the team title, as all five scoring runners finished in the top 10, with four additional runners finishing in the top 15. Will Douglas (19:48.14 | sixth) and Kai Connor (19:51.94 | seventh) rounded out UA's scoring five in the men's 4 mile.

Head Coach Dan Waters Said

"I could not be prouder of how our program handled the back-and-forth scheduling throughout the week. To take first and second, respectively, across both the men's and women's races and to also secure the men's individual title with a phenomenal run by Joel [Gardner], it's a true testament to how focused we were as a program in buildup to today. As with any race this early in the season, there's still things to improve but we can carry this momentum into next week's competition.

"We want to thank Florida State, Huntingdon College and Nicholls for their professionalism in handling all the logistics for their respective meets throughout this week, while also preparing for Hurricane Helene making landfall. They did a great job in some tough circumstances."