Kent State University
Spartan Invitational
Ba Places Second at Spartan Invitational
9/15/2023 2:28:00 PM | Cross Country
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Junior Baidy Ba was the first attached collegiate runner across the finish line and placed second overall in the men's 8K race to lead the Kent State cross country teams at the Spartan Invitational on Friday morning.
The Golden Flashes finished fourth of 10 teams in the women's 6K while the men took fifth out of 10 teams.
All five of Kent State's scorers for the women's team ran sub-24:00.00 races. Junior Lany Straub was the first Flash across the finish line in 22:42.9 for 37th and was followed closely by junior Sydney Gallagher, who placed 38th in 22:54.9. Freshman Ella McCollom (23:27.7), junior Ariana Manos (23:35.0) and junior Sydney Miller (23:58.8) also had strong performances.
In the men's race, Ba clocked a time of 24:42.3 to beat his time from last year's race by more than 15 seconds. Senior Ethan Yost was the next Kent State runner to cross the finish line, placing 32nd in 25:35.5. Graduate student Trey Double ran an 8K personal-best 25:57.2 to place 50th. Freshman Jackson Albanese (25:57.7), junior Jonah Cuestas (26:01.3) and sophomore Dylan McBride (26:08.3) were close behind to finish 51st, 53rd and 58th, respectively.
Kent State is scheduled to return to action at the Live in Lou Classic on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Be sure to follow the Golden Flashes on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the team.
Kent State Men (8K)
2. Baidy Ba – 24:42.3
32. Ethan Yost – 25:35.5
50. Trey Double – 25:57.2
51. Jackson Albanese – 25:57.7
53. Jonah Cuestas – 26:01.3
58. Dylan McBride – 26:08.3
70. Jacob Mirabell – 26:24.2
79. Nick Huger – 26:30.3
86. Rylan Winkler – 26:50.3
104. Michael Arner – 27:21.6
110. Caleb Bost – 27:28.4
129. Andrew Biggs – 28:16.7
131. Isaac Perez – 28:24.8
155. Evan Alten – 29:33.0
Kent State Women (6K)
37. Lany Straub – 22:42.9
38. Sydney Gallagher – 22:54.9
58. Ella McCollom – 23:27.7
64. Ariana Manos – 23:35.0
80. Sydney Miller – 23:58.8
86. Karsyn Spears – 24:07.1
94. Anna Jones – 24:21.4
114. Olivia Fenneken – 25:49.0
Players Mentioned
