FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
VICTORIA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s cross country team wrapped up its regular season with a strong performance at the Fifth Annual Tiger Open Saturday morning. FHSU hosted the event at the Sand Plum Nature Trail on a beautiful autumn morning. The Tigers finished seventh in a loaded field including three nationally-ranked opponents, totaling 234 points.
The Tigers finished second out of five MIAA programs in attendance, with Nebraka-Kearney finishing fourth overall to be the top conference school.
A total of 661 runners competed in the four races Saturday, breaking the record for participants in a Tiger Open by 46 (2015, 615). One hundred seventy-six men took to the course in the eight-kilometer Gold Race.
Troy Wineinger traversed the course in 24:53.5 to finish 19th. Feysel Rahmeto earned a 52nd place finish with a time of 25:38.9, with Layton Werth finishing less than 10 seconds later in 60th place (25:48.4). Israel Barco posted a time of 25:58.2 to finish 70th while Jacob Thomas rounded out the scoring for FHSU in 76th, crossing the line in 26:01.7.
Adams State, the top-ranked team in the latest USTFCCCA Coaches poll, won the event for the third time with 45 team points. Competing unattached, Joe Moore captured the individual title with a time of 23:34.2, just 1.2 seconds off the course record.
The Tigers will return to the course in two weeks when they travel to Elsah, Ill. for the MIAA Championships on Saturday, October 22.