By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The Fort Hays State men’s and women’s cross country teams swept the team titles at the FHSU Tiger Open on Friday (Sept. 8) The meet for the Tigers was their first home meet held at the new Rolling Ridge course in Hays. Fort Hays State was led by Jaycee Vath on the women’s side and Ethan Fisher on the men’s side. Both Tigers claimed 1st place by at least six second.
The women’s team grabbed 1st place out of three teams, placing in front of Dodge City Community College and McPherson. The Fort Hays State women finished with just 16 points, clearing Dodge City by 42 points. Individually the Tigers occupied seven spots within the top ten finishers, including all of the top four runners. Jaycee Vathcrossed the finish line with a time of 18:24.5 over the five kilometers. Behind Vath were teammates Darian Hudgeons, Faith Little, and Abbye Hudson who all ran under 20 minutes.
The Tiger men’s team placed first out of six teams with a final team score of 21 points. Ethan Fisher shaved off 11 seconds from his time last week to claim the top spot in the race with a 20:37.1. Jaret Pfizenmaier was right on Fisher’s tail, finishing in 2nd place with a time of 20:43.6. Noah Morenz finished in 5th place.
The Tigers will be back in action again on Saturday, September 23 in Stillwater, Oklahoma for the Cowboy Jamboree hosted by Oklahoma State. The women’s race begins at 8:00 a.m. with the men’s right after at 8:30 a.m.