Barnett Finishes Among Nation?s Best At Pre-Nationals

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – In her third competition of the 2016 season, Grace Barnett finished less than a minute behind this afternoon’s champion at the 2016 ISU Pre-National Invitational. The 13^th ranked Clemson women in the Southeast took on a remarkably competitive field that featured 42 total teams, eight of which were ranked in the top-15 in the nation.

2015 All-ACC harrier, Barnett finished the 5K race 23^rd overall and just 54.7 seconds out of first at 20:39.4. Freshman, Logan Morris wasn’t far behind at 21:14.6 with Madison Huffman and Morgan Wittrock crossing the finish line a minute later at 22:14.0 and 22:17.6 respectively. Jenna Gearing capped off the top five finishers for the Tigers at 22:32.

On the men’s side, Micah Williams led the Tigers once again with a 20^th place finish to lift Clemson to a 6^th place finish overall in a field of 20 programs. The sophomore clocked in just 49.3 seconds behind the first place finisher at 25:25.7. Not far behind Williams was Mpho Makofane and Andrew Emery as the freshmen completed the 8K in 25:43.4 and 25:47.5 to take 32^nd and 36^threspectively. Rounding out the top five, Jacob Slann and Clayton Wilson took 69^th and 71^st with times of 26:18.8 and 26:20.5.

This race was the final test for the Tigers prior to championship season as Clemson now awaits the ACC Championships. The conference championship race is slated to take place October 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina.