by ABILENE, Texas – The Texas Tech cross country team opened its season Saturday morning at Abilene Christian’s Naimadu Classic. The Red Raiders placed second as a team on both the men’s and women’s sides.
“This was a good effort by both groups,” said head coach Jon Murray. “It looked like the first meet for us – we have improvements to make but I anticipate both groups will respond well to the challenge.”
Tech’s underclassmen led the way in Abilene. The men’s group had two sophomores and two freshmen as its top four finishers in the 6k. Luke Estes led the team, turning in a 19:26.22 for a third-place overall finish. Bennett Barnett (Choctaw Nation) took fifth, finishing five seconds behind his fellow sophomore with a 19:31.96. Freshmen Richard Taylor (seventh) and Bryce Boggs (ninth) brought up the next two scoring places for Tech. Senior Grant LaSelle (19:51.73) rounded out the top-10 as the fifth Red Raider in the first group to cross the finish line.
Next for Tech will be its lone home meet of the fall on Sept. 21. The TTU Classic will kick off at 8:30 a.m.
