Radford University’s Hannah Moran won the Virginia Tech Invitational and set a new school record in the process to lead the Radford University cross-country team to a second-place finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational Wednesday night.
The Salem native quickly separated herself from the rest of the pack and crossed the finish line ahead of all other competitors in the 4k with a time of 14:11.0. The time beats the previous school record of 14:26.8 set by Caitlin Apps at the 2019 Virginia Tech Invitational and establishes Moran as one of the best runners in program history.
Rachel Werking was the next Highlander to finish, making it to the line with a time of 14:40.5 for 11th place. Rachel Millirons posted a personal-best 14:45.0 to take 14th, and MacKenzie Gardner shaved more than 40 seconds off her previous best for a new personal record and a 16th-place finish.
MegAnne Gilmore (15:01.2, 18th) had a strong showing in her first race of the year, and Savannah Hoff (15:10.9, 20th) also recorded a personal record. Abby Seigel (15:14.5, 22nd) rounded out the scoring for Radford.
The team’s total score was 47 with an average time of 14:41.
On the men’s side, Nate Jennings paced the Highlanders in the 6k with a seventh-place finish and a time of 19:18.0, which was the second-fastest time in school history. The only Radford runner to top that is Ryan Farnan, who owns the program record at 18:58.0.
Sam Sikora was next to cross the finish line, placing 11th with a time of 19:53.10 which now stands as the eighth-fastest time in school history. Joshua Daggett took 12th by running a 20:00.70, the 10th-fastest time in the history of the program.
In his first taste of collegiate competition, freshman Clay Kelly grabbed 19th place with a time of 20:42.90 while Alejo Cobos (21:00.10) and Nick McCumsey (21:16.50) were just behind. Hayat Khan (21:35.8) was the final scorer for the Radford men.
The Highlanders also took second overall in the invitational, scoring 54 points with an average time of 20:11.