The Trinity Tigers took advantage of high humidity during the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16, with both teams seeing huge results. The second meet of the season saw Trinity facing off against strong opposition, but the athletes did not shy away from the challenge. Along with beating numerous NCAA Division I schools, several Tiger runners also set personal-best or near-best times during the race.
The event was an invitational hosted by the University of the Incarnate Word, who saw their man, Griffin Neal, take the win. The invitational saw all kinds of competition, which, similar to the previous meet at the Twilight Invitational, featured Division I opponents. This week, Trinity faced not only UIW, but also Rice University, Texas State University, University of Texas at San Antonio and more. Trinity took the fight to the larger schools, finishing second in both team categories.
Saturday’s early-morning race at San Antonio’s Windcrest Golf Course saw the relative humidity climb above 80%, making for muggy and oppressive races in the Men’s 8-kilometer and Women’s 6-kilometer events.
The men started the day rolling, with two runners finishing inside the top 10. Junior Will Salony finished in seventh place with a time of 25:05.5, the third-fastest of his career. He was joined in the top 10 by senior Diego Flores, who also set one of his fastest career times (25:06.2) en route to a ninth-place finish.
Sophomore Nathaniel Trevino finished 25th with a time of 25:58.3, and senior Joseph Herlin ran a 26:15.8 to break his personal record by almost 45 seconds. Sophomore Logan Nasky earned a hard-fought result of 35th with a time of 26:17.5, and junior Eli Karg rounded out Trinity’s points-scorers with a time of 26:33.
The women’s side had equally impressive results, with the team earning a silver medal overall. Sophomore Allison Fortman made her Trinity debut and took advantage of the opportunity, leading the Tigers with a 14th-place finish and a time of 22:39.2.
Senior Madison Habeck finished right behind her in 15th with a time of 22:42.7, and sophomore Josette Gurule finished in the top 25 with a 22nd place finish and a time of 23:12.3. Senior Ellie Catron had a strong run with a time of 23:19.1 and 26th place, while sophomore Em Miller finished in 29th with a time of 23:27.1. First-year Cali Good finished 31st off a 23:32.7, and sophomore Emily Gnecco rounded out Trinity’s points scorers with a time of 23:53.
Trinity’s second meet of the season followed a strong finish at the UIW Twilight Invitational on Sept. 1. The Tigers finished well in that event too, with multiple Trinity runners beating out competition from Baylor, Texas State and others.
Trinity hosts their first cross country meet of the season this weekend, hosting a dual meet with Texas Lutheran University at Olmos Basin Park in San Antonio. Following the meet, the Tigers will wrap up the month by traveling to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to take part in the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University.
