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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the second straight year, the TSU men's cross country team used a team effort to capture its second consecutive SWAC Men's Cross Country Championship at Apalachee Regional Park.
After last year's travel delays which forced the Tigers into some last-minute adjustments, this year's trip was smooth from the start as the team had plenty of rest and preparation entering Monday's meet. Senior cross country coach Xavier Martinez had a good feeling going into the meet about his team and they lived up to his expectations as they took an early lead less than four minutes in.
Facing stiff competition from rival Prairie View A&M and Alabama A&M early on, the Tigers took full control of the 8K race around the four-minute mark (1.3K mile mark) as freshman Manuel Garza jumped out to a third-place start while senior Brandon Adolphus was in seventh.
As a team, TSU never released its grip and dominated from start-to-finish as Garza was the top runner individually (seventh) with a time of 26:43.9. Adolphus was right behind with an eighth-place finish (26:47.9) while sophomore Jeremiah Barrera placed 12th in a time of 27:08.5. Freshmen Gael Flores (14th - 27:15.3) and Bruce Prince (28:57.4) rounded out the TSU contingent en route to the program's second consecutive cross country championship, third in six years and eighth overall.
Garza and Adolphus were named to the 2024 All-SWAC Second Team for their efforts while Director of Track & Field Clyde Duncan, Sr. was named SWAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
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Source: https://tsusports.com/news/2024/10/...-championship-after-dominant-performance.aspx