MADISON, Wisc. – Clemson’s Logan Morris placed 29th overall among a field of 243 competitors Saturday at the University of Wisconsin’s Pre-Nationals meet, which was held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. Despite cold and wet conditions, which delayed Saturday’s start time, Morris was less than 20 seconds shy of hitting her personal best after achieving a time of 20:54.9. Morris was the fifth sophomore among white race competitors to cross the finish line.
As a team, the Tiger women earned a 23rd-place finish in the white race after registering 577 points from the top-5 finishers. Additionally, freshman Riley Coggin placed 23rd in the gray race with a time of 22:08.8. Coggin’s time would have been good for No. 3 among Clemson scorers in the white race.
“I thought the women’s team ran well today,” said Clemson head coach Mark Elliott. “They didn’t run as well as we thought they could’ve. Collectively, the women have a good team, a pretty deep team, and we just need to show up and run our best when it counts. This is by the far the coldest weather we’ve faced all year, but it was a good test because the conference meet is in Boston this year, where it’ll probably be cold too.”
Clemson distance coach Michael Porter offered his thoughts following the race as well.
“I thought both teams ran well, but we could’ve raced better, which is the part we have to figure out before ACC’s,” said Porter. “The race of the day goes to Riley Coggin in the gray race, who would’ve been No. 3 for us had she been in white race. That would’ve pushed our score up a few points.”
On the men’s side, sophomore John Ward paced the Tigers as he finished 144th of 234 competitors. Ward, who is coming off a strong race at Notre Dame two weeks ago, crossed the finish line at the 25:28.8 mark. Senior Jackson Goodwin had a strong outing as well, finishing right behind Ward in 25:50.0, which was good for 164th. Overall the Tiger men finished 33rd.
Porter added, “John Ward and Jackson Goodwin stood out today for the men – they were both just short of their PRs in tough conditions today. Overall, our execution just needs to be a little bit better as does our competitiveness for ACC Championships.”
Up next, the Tigers head to Boston for the 2018 ACC Cross Country Championships, which are slated for Friday, Oct. 26 at Franklin Park. The women’s conference championship race kicks off at 10 a.m., while the men’s race is begins at 11 a.m.
For complete coverage of the Tiger cross country/track & field team, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram, and ‘Clemson University Track & Field’ on Facebook.
