Staff Writers: Bode Arigbon and Michael O’Neill
The fourth-ranked Wingate men’s cross country team won the University
of Alabama at Huntsville Invitational Oct. 22 at the John Hunt Park XC
course. The Bulldogs placed five runners among the top 18 finishers in
the 8K event to post 53 points. Sixth-ranked Lee (Tenn.) University was
second with 87 points.
Wingate graduate student Pierre Galbourdin finished third with his 8K
time of 23:43.60. Sophomore Scott Nutter took fifth place with a time of
23:46.70. Junior Bastian Mrochen and sophomore Cas Kopmels finished
12th (23:54.30) and 15th (23:56.10), respectively. Graduate student
Oliver Way rounded out the Bulldog scorers, placing 18th with a time of
24:01.20.
The Wingate women finished second in the event, with sophomore
Grace Burrell leading the way at 14th overall in a time of 17:42.50. The
Bulldogs placed five runners among the top 28 finishers in the 5K race.
Wingate head coach Pol Domenech said the event, which featured 49
schools for the men and 44 for the women, was great preparation for the
team’s upcoming South Atlantic Conference championships and NCAA
Southern Regional to be held on the Bulldogs’ home course.
“Huntsville was definitely a big test for us,” Domenech said. “We did
not do anything special to prepare, but we knew we were racing top
competition (nationally ranked teams in both genders), so we wanted to
execute the race well and see where we stood against great competition.
On the men’s side, Pierre Galbourdin ran an incredible time. It has been
a long time coming for him as he was injured last season, so I’m really
proud he has been able to come back and at a really high level.
“On the women’s side, Grace Burrell led the team with another great
performance. Similar to Pierre, she came back from a tough injury last
year, and it feels great to see her up there again”
Both Wingate teams compete in the 2022 South Atlantic Conference
championships Nov. 5 in at Salisbury Community Park near host.
Catawba College. The Bulldogs are the defending champions in both the
men’s and the women’s competitions.
Wingate Triangle 