The women’s cross country team finished second overall and the men placed eighth at the Redhawk Invitational, hosted by Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. 

The women’s second place finish is their best showing since winning the Western Kentucky Invitational in 2023. 

Three Racers had top-10 finishes, with freshman Molly Robertson taking second place at 17:59. Junior Alyssa Moore captured a sixth place finish at 18:09, while senior Jocelyn Host trailed just behind her in seventh place with a time of 18:11. 

Graduate student Ruth Kimutai (18:35) and sophomore Liz Smith (18:35) finished 14th and 15th respectively. 

Sophomore and Murray State top-5 all-time runner Dylan Ellis finished in 15th place with a time of 15:41. Teammate and fellow sophomore Nick Schmitz (15:50) took 19th place with junior Gabe Russell (15:51) only a second behind finishing in 20th place. 

The cross country teams will compete next at the Southern Illinois Oscar Moore Invitational in Carbondale, Illinois, on Friday, Sep. 19.