CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? The Austin Peay State University men and women's cross country teams had strong third-place showings at the Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial Invitational, hosted by Alabama-Huntsville.

Senior Bertha Castillo won the women's event with a mark of 18:27.20 in the five-kilometer event. Freshman Janelle Avery (6th, 19:21.80) and senior Melissa Nobbs (10th, 19:47.20) posted top-10 finishes in the field of 97. Freshmen Shannon Moberly (27th, 21:04.90) and Hannah Scruton (40th, 22:02.30) also had good performances for the Lady Govs. The women's team had an overall score of 80 points, finishing behind host UAH (53 points) and Evansville (56 points).

“Three runners in the top 10 is really good for us,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “All the women had season-best times and I'm proud of our effort today.”

On the men's side, seniors Tim Hall (7th, 26:45.50) and Ryne Sexton (8th, 26:46.00) finished less than a second apart in the eight-kilometer event. Senior Matt Rowe (16th, 27:53.90) also finished in the top 20 of a 71-man field. Freshmen Jimmy Lynch (23rd, 28:21.70) and Evan Collins (26th, 28:27.80) picked up the slack for an injury-depleted Govs team. The Govs had a team score of 79, finishing behind UAH (29 points) and Evansville (40 points).

“The guys one through five split was much better this week,” said Molnar. “Our front guys need to be more aggressive, but the guys really stepped up, especially with us having a lot of injuries this week.”

The cross country teams will take next weekend off, then pick up the pace again at the Tiger Invitational, October 4th, in Auburn, Ala.

- AP -