Hyrum runners lead Utah State in meet
There must be something in Hyrum’s water that makes natives Trevor Ball and Ashley Johnson run so fast. Or, it could be hard work.
Ball and Johnson led the men and women, respectively, over the weekend at the pre-national competition at Indiana State University. The invite was a preview for the national championship races that will be held Nov. 22 back in Indiana.
“Trevor ran great,” head coach Greg Gensel said. “[He] ran real strong in the last half of the race.”
Ball ran the 8,000-kilometer race in 24 minutes and 27 seconds, his best time of the season, finishing in 22nd place.
David Danley, who led the Ags to 17th place finish at last year’s pre-nationals meet, was the second Aggie to finish the race. With a time of 24:44, he ended the meet in 39th place. The race wasn’t Danley’s best performance, but Gensel said he has continually been the leader for the men all season.
“To be honest, I think we can run better, but I am pleased with the way they ran,” Gensel said.
On the women’s side, Johnson, a sophomore, finished with a time of 21 minutes and 43 seconds in the 6,000-kilometer race. The time put her in 59th place overall.
“Ashley is starting to run more like she did last year,” Gensel said.
Lida Riplinger was the second Aggie in for the women, finishing 69th with a time of 21:50. Tiffany Strickland ran time of 22:01, good for 87th place. At the same meet last season, Johnson ran to 41st place while Riplinger finished 119th.
Gensel said Johnson and Riplinger have been strong and consistent for the Aggie women. They have been the top two finishers for the Aggie women so far this season.
Out of 87 men’s and women’s teams at the invite, the Aggie men were able to finish in 14th place and the women in 18th. Last season, the men were 17th and the women 19th.
-mlglade@cc.usu.edu