Men's Results | Women's Results 

Oxford, Al. – The Kennesaw State cross country teams opened their season on Friday, August 31 at Choccolocco Park Sports Complex in Oxford, Alabama.
 
The women's team picked up a win scoring 46 points. It was the women's teams first win since the KSU Invitational in 2009. Freshman Brenda Ayuk picked up the win in her first collegiate race with a time of 18:44.80. Ayuk's win was the first by an Owl since Kidan Kidane in 2016. She was followed closely by senior Caitlyn Farrell who posted a time of 19:09.50 to finish runner-up. Sophomore Katie Meyer took third with a time of 19:10.60. Reagan Poteet (20:35.00) and Brooke Aumer (20:39.80) rounded out the scoring for the Owls finishing 20^th and 22^nd. Freshman Sarah Henderson was 32^nd with a time of 21:05.70. The freshman duo of Alicia Johnson (21:57.10) and Alexandria Stevens (22:02.10) took home 51^st and 52^nd while Gwen Setlock grabbed 56^th in 22:20.0. Alice Mercier was 85^th in a time of 23:59.50.
 
 In the men's 5k race, sophomore Chase Kennedy paced the Owls with a time of 15:49.50 to finish third. Freshman Koi Williams grabbed fourth with a time of 15:52.30. Freshmen Austin Muse (17:13.10), Stephen Pipes (17:14.50) and finished 40^th and 41^st. Redshirt-freshman Colton Page crossed the line in 17:17.70 to finish 42^nd. The men's team took home a fifth-place finish scoring 127 points.
 
Head Coach David Poteet on the Teams Performances Today
 
"Our athlete's times today do not tell the true story of the strong performances we had."
 
On the women's team
 
"Hats off to the women's team winning their first meet in nine years with the top three finishers all in KSU gold. Brenda Ayuk ran a great race, staying patient before leaving the field in the third mile.  Caitlyn Farrell and Katie Meyer began moving past people at the same time. Those three will see their times drop quickly as we get in faster courses and they get even stronger. Our four and five runners passed runners in the last 700 meters and will need to close gap on our top three. I am very proud of them all."
 
On the men's team
 
"We were supposed to run a 7K with the men and prepared two weeks for that. The race was changed to a 5K today, so we had to adapt. Overall, I was happy but know there is a lot more in this group. Chase Kennedy and Koi Williams had strong races in thick grass. As the others adapt to college racing, we will see the teams performance improve. We have two months before conference, so patience and consistent improvement is critical."

Notes
- The JSU Struts Season Opener was the Owls first meet of 2018.

- Brenda Ayuk,  Alicia Johnson, Alexandria Stevens, Gwen Setlock, Alice Mercier, Koi Williams, Austin Muse, Stephen Pipes and Colton Page made their KSU debuts tonight.

- Tonight marked the first time that Ayuk and Kennedy have been the Owls top finishers in a meet.

Next Up
The Owls will travel to Athens, Georgia for the Bulldog Invitational on Saturday, September 8.
  
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.