HOOVER, Ala. – The New Orleans Cross Country program put on a show on their final tune-up of the regular season as both the men’s and women’s squads raced to second-place finishes at the UAB Blazer Classic at Veterans Park on Saturday morning.
The men posted 114 points to take second while the women recorded just 89 points, one of the best results ever posted by the program at a race of this size and magnitude in school history.
To put the race into perspective, there were 18 teams on the men’s side and 17 squads took the course for the women. The men’s race consisted of 175 student-athletes while the women’s featured 150 competitors.
The men ran down squads from Memphis (American), Vanderbilt (SEC), Clemson (ACC). On the women’s side, the group took down teams from both Clemson and Memphis, amongst others.
“I am extremely pleased and impressed with how the men and women competed today,” associate head coach Brock Moreaux said. “Both teams have been working for years to build a program that can go into every meet with a chance to win and that hard work was shown today as they topped several impressive programs.”
“We had several people really step up today and match the energy and focus of their teammates,” Moreaux added. “It was a great end to our regular season as we shift over to championship racing.”
THE BASICS
RESULTS: Men: 2nd (114 points) | Women: 2nd (89 points)
MEET: UAB Blazer Classic
LOCATION: Veterans Park – Hoover, Ala.
NOTABLES
– What a race for the New Orleans women as the group started the day and placed four runners in the Top-25 and all five scored athletes in the Top-40.
– Arina Kleshchukova showed up in a big way as she paced the Privateers with her fifth-place finish at 21:35.16.
– Transfer student-athlete Alexandra Weir has continued to be a force since she joined UNO. She ran to a 10th-place showing with a new personal best of 21:51.01.
– Ariana Jimenez continued her strong cross season as she was another low stick for the Privateers in 11th with a new PR of 21:51.13.
– Anna Dohmen (25th, 22:38.78) and Allie Louis (40th, 23:22.00) rounded out the scoring attack while Anna Martin (53rd, 23:22.20) and Jade Talazac (77th, 23:50.09) made up the rest of the Privateers top-seven student-athletes. All four in this group set a new personal best with their performances today.
– Not to be overshadowed by the women, the men’s group put on a show of their own as four Privateers crossed the line in the Top-24 of the meet.
– Kolyn Saltzman led the way with his sixth-place performance at 24:59.27. Jaden Forester joined him in the Top-10 and was right behind in seventh at 25:04.40.
– Alec Snell (22nd, 25:28.67), Cade Litolff (24th, 25:52.21) and Alvaro Canarte (50th, 26:11.83) capped off the top-five scorers for UNO while Kristian Oatman (58th, 26:19.33) and Jose Rodriguez (65th, 26:27.62) rounded out the top-seven student-athletes.
– The New Orleans men posted a spread of 1:12 between their top scorers while the women got their top finishers across the line with a spread of 1:32.
– Four Privateer men (Canarte, Rodriguez, Carpenter and Blackwell) and nine UNO women (Weir, Jimenez, Dohmen, Louis, Martin, Talazac, Drakes, Folk and Hedrick) set their new personal best at the 8K and 6K distance, respectively, with their performances today.
NEXT UP
It is officially championship season as the Privateers will get a short break before heading to Corpus Christi for the 2021 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships, set for Friday, Oct. 29. The women will get the day started at 10 AM CT while the men will follow at 11 AM.
NEW ORLEANS MEN’S RESULTS
6. Kolyn Saltzman – 24:59.27
7. Jaden Forester – 25:04.40
22. Alec Snell – 25:28.67
24. Cade Litolff – 25:52.21
50. Alvaro Canarte – 26:11.83*
58. Kristian Oatman – 26:19.33
65. Jose Rodriguez – 26:27.62*
89. Gary Sandrock – 27:07.13
95. Cameron Carpenter – 27:12.96*
102. Antonio Blackwell – 27:30.00*
NEW ORLEANS WOMEN’S RESULTS
5. Arina Kleshchukova – 21:35.16
10. Alexandra Weir – 21:51.01*
11. Ariana Jimenez – 21:51.13*
25. Anna Dohmen – 22:38.78*
40. Allie Louis – 23:07.20*
53. Anna Martin – 23:22.20*
77. Jade Talazac – 23:50.09*
92. Jantrell Drakes – 24:20.49*
102. Michelle Folk – 24:56.96*
112. Holly Hedrick – 25:13.49*
(* – New Personal Best)
TOP-FIVE MEN’S SCORES
1. Belmont – 57 points
2. New Orleans – 114 points
3. Memphis – 118 points
4. Vanderbilt – 129 points
5. Lipscomb – 147 points
TOP-FIVE WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES
1. Vanderbilt – 42 points
2. New Orleans – 89 points
3. Samford – 123 points
4. Clemson – 130 points
5. Kennesaw State – 137 points
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{Courtesy: release from UNO Athletics}