Austin Peay's Jack Fitzgerald outpaces Lipscomb's Saxon Brown during Friday's Belmont Opener.
Results
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Connor Duncan posted a personal best in Friday's 5k to pace Austin Peay State University in the Belmont Opener at Percy Warner Park's Vaughn's Creek Cross Country Course.
"I performed better than I thought I would," Duncan said. "I was just hoping to break my PR from high school, which was 16:35, and it ended up being around 16:11, so I was very happy with that."
The Governors placed fifth after totaling 132 points. Friday marked the first race for the Governors under the direction of assistant coach Tony Nicolosi. In addition to Duncan, two Austin Peay runners - Ryan Martin and Jack Fitzgerald - posted personal bests.
"It's a really gritty group," Nicolosi commented. "They had a big summer. We've trained really hard. They were tired today, and we had a lot of big PRs. It was definitely a great start."
Duncan placed 14th overall after crossing the finish line in 16:11.36. Martin finished 28th in a time of 16:58.44, besting his previous personal record by more than 30 seconds. In his first collegiate race, Lucas Bales was 33rd with a time of 17:47.89. Fitzgerald took 35th with a mark of 17:58.14, an improvement over his previous personal best by more than one minute. Stone Norris finished 36th in 18:04.82. Lennon Matthews placed 38th in a time of 19:04.13.
"This is the beginning stage of what we're trying to do," Nicolosi said. "These guys have bought in from the moment I first talked to them. We're getting a lot better."
Austin Peay takes part in the ASUN Pre-Conference Meet on September 16 at John Hunt Cross Country Park in Huntsville, Ala. The 8k race begins at 7:30 a.m. CT.
