TOWSON, Md. – For the second consecutive year, the Tigers will be opening the cross country season at Goucher University for the Baltimore Metro Meet on Friday, August 30.
"We've had a great preseason; the energy is high and the excitement amongst the team has been infectious," coach
Evan Freeman stated. "This will be a great first test to see our team chemistry in a race and allow the newcomers to get settled in. We've got an ambitious team and a lot of new faces, so I'm looking forward to seeing our first competition together as a team."
Race Information:
Course: Goucher XC Course | Baltimore, MD
Race Distance: 5K
Race Time: 6:45 p.m.
Field: The Tigers will compete against athletes from Alvernia, Bowie State, Carroll CC, CCBC Catonsville, CCBC Essex, Coppin State, Gettysburg, Goucher, Hood College, Lancaster Bible, Marymount Virginia, Morgan State, Notre Dame Maryland and Stevenson.
Live Results: M&D Timing LLC
Live Stream:
FloTrack
Roster:
Mari Collick,
Rebecca Farris,
Abbey Frock,
Rebekka Hillier,
Jennifer Maxwell,
Lexi Mogensen,
Isabella Myles,
Jillian O'Neill,
Vallerya Rojas,
Sophia Skinner,
Baara Stewart and
Taylor Totevski have been entered to compete in this event.
Newcomers:
Towson welcomes eight new Tigers this season, four of which have notable achievements.
Two grad students,
Abbey Frock and
Isabella Myles, will spend their fifth year of eligibility with the Black & Gold. Frock comes from Southern Wesleyan University where she placed third at the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase this past season. Additionally, she is a three-time competitor at the NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regional Championships. Myles spent her undergrad years at Seton Hill. She was the conference runner-up at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Championships in the 10k and anchored the distance medley relay to a fourth-place finish at the PSAC Indoor Championships. Additionally, she was a three-time NCAA Cross Country Atlantic Regional Championships performer and qualified for the NCAA DII Cross Country Championship.
Rebekka Hillier and
Jennifer Maxwell are the notable incoming freshmen, both local to the DMV area. Hillier hails from Hereford High School where she was the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) State Champion in the outdoor and indoor 3200m as well as the indoor 1600m during her senior year. She qualified for the Nike Indoor Nationals, placing 11
th in the 800m and 19
th in the 5k. Additionally, Hillier had a successful final cross country season with Hereford as she won the Maryland XC Invitational and was third at the MPSSAA State XC Championships, helping her team win the 2A state title.
Jennifer Maxwell graduated from St. John's College High School where she was the conference runner-up at the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, leading her team to a first-place finish. At the DC State Athletic Association (DCSAA) Cross Country Championships she placed fifth overall, helping St. John's claim the event title. She helped her team place fourth in the DMR at Penn Relays, anchoring in the Championship of America section.
The other freshmen who will debut as Tigers this Friday include
Mari Collick,
Rebecca Farris,
Jillian O'Neill and
Vallerya Rojas.
Last Season Highlights:
Recent graduate
Aubrey Schaffer was the team's top performer for the 2023 season. The Maryland native ran the program's fastest time at all five meets. She clocked PRs in both the 5k and 6k, running 19:06.7 and 22:21.60 respectively. The Tigers' highest finish last season was at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational where they placed fourth out of 26 teams after all seven Tigers ran season or lifetime bests. The top returners for the upcoming season include
Lexi Mogensen and
Baara Stewart who consistently finished behind Schaffer at all six meets.
At the Baltimore Metro Meet last year, the Tigers took fourth place out of eight teams after running an average time of 20:45 and earning 119 points. The Towson program record for the fastest time ran on the Goucher XC Course, 19:06.7, was set by Schaffer.
Lexi Mogensen ran the second fastest time, clocking a 20:07.4.
Up Next:
The Tigers take a two-week hiatus before attending their next competition, which will be the Delaware State Invitational, on Friday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m.
