Full Results  Photo Gallery

Bishop, Ga.- The Kennesaw State men's and women's cross country teams opened up their 2016 seasons at the UGA Cross Country Invitational on Saturday (Sept.3) at the UGA Equestrian Complex.

In the women's 5K race, senior Kidan Kidane led the way for KSU. Kidane posted a time of 18:02.30 to finish third overall. Freshman Lexi Froh grabbed a twentieth place finish in 19:18.08. She was followed closely by fellow freshman Bonnie McKinnon crossed the line in 19:26.88. Sophomore Kaitlyn Franklin rounded out the scoring for the Owls finishing 30^th in 19:37.59.  Nicole Zaubi (20:22.91), Caitlyn Farrell (20:25.83), Paulette Juieng (21:49.21) and Magee Morris (22:04.35) also competed for the Owls. The women's team finished third overall behind Georgia and Georgia Tech.

"This was a great chance to see where we stand running a fairly tough course, and I saw some very good sings if things to come, Head Coach David Poteet said. "Kidan ran about 12 seconds faster on this course than she did in our first meet last year on a faster course at UNF.  And Three freshmen girls ran in the mid to low 19s in their first college meet."

The men's team was led by junior transfer Paul Schupp in their 8K race. Schupp finished 13^th in 26:30.85.  Fellow junior Jordan Hand crossed the line 19^th in 27:11.76. Fellow freshman Max Warner (28:47.50) finished 30^thand Will Hasse crossed right behind him in 31^st with a time of (29.04.37). Sophomore Derrick Kinyanjui rounded out the scoring for the Owls finishing 33^rd in (29:10.00).

"The men were led by transfer Paul Schupp and junior Jordan Hand. Jordan has also improved since last year. In the next three weeks I expect to see more improvement from everyone as we prepare for the Mountain Dew Invitational." Poteet said.

The Owls will race next on Saturday (Sept.24) at the UF Mountain Dew Invitational in Gainesville, Florida.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State cross country news, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlTrackFieldXC or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.