Despite rainy conditions, Kent State junior Baidy Ba came in first place at the Pre-Nationals meet in Charlottesville, VA, on Oct. 14; he ran a time of 24:06.7. 

He was not in first the entire time, though. Ba got ahead in the last 500 meters of the race and finished 8.1 seconds ahead of the previous leader. 

Senior Ethan Yost and graduate student Trey Double were the next Flashes across the finish line. Yost had a time of 24:56.8, and Double had a time of 25:28.4. 

The women’s team top finisher was senior Sydney Gallagher with a time of 22:42.7. She was closely followed by freshman Ella McCollom with a time of 22:58.1 and was the second lady from Kent State to finish.

EMU Fall Classic 

Junior Jonah Cuestas was the first runner to cross the finish line in Dexter, Michigan, for the men’s team, placing 12th with a time of 16:20.08.

Freshman Caleb Bost earned a top-25 finish with a time of 16:52.0.

The Flashes had six runners finish in the top 40: junior Michael Arner (16:58.4), sophomore Nick Huger (16:58.7), freshman Isaac Perez (17:32.8), and junior Evan Alten (17:40.0).

For the women’s team, junior Olivia Fenneken finished 72nd with a time of 21:52.2.

Redshirt freshman Story Jones recorded a time of 22:31.9, finishing in 78th.

Looking back on the season, the men’s and women’s teams had some pretty impressive races and team members.

Someone who has stuck out for the women’s team so far this season is Gallagher. She has finished first three times out of the four meets held this season. 

Ba has stood out for the men’s team after his victory at the Pre-Nationals meet. He has been the first man across the line for the men’s team in all four meets this season, and he has finished top in each meet with one first-place and one second-place finish.

Looking at how the teams have placed, the ladies’ team had fourth, seventh, and 36th place team finishes.

The men’s team had first, fifth, and 16th place team finishes. 

Looking back at last season, Ba broke a cross country record for Kent State at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet. 

He completed a 10k with a time of 30:07, which beat the previous record set by Jim Loveless by more than 30 seconds. 

Gallagher finished the same meet in 133rd place with a time of 22:39.3.

The Flashes will now set their eyes on the Mid-American Conference Championship at Mel Brodt Cross Country Course in Bowling Green on Oct. 28.

Robyn Taylor is a reporter. Contact her @[email protected].