Cross Country Places 4th in HOKA Invitational 22

LAKELAND, FL -- Texas Lutheran Men's and Women's Cross Country competed in the HOKA Invitational 22 at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida on Friday morning in a field that spanned from Division-I to Division-III.

Caeli Taylor (Tilden/McMullen County) led the Bulldogs finishing the 5K in 20:41.73 to finish 15th amongst the 100+ runner field and bringing home a medal. Taylor's time made for first amongst Division-III runners as she finished less than 10 seconds behind a group of Division-I runners from University of South Florida. Kristin Lucero (San Antonio/Brennan) and Mackenzie Payne (Celina/Frisco Heritage) followed Taylor with times of 20:59.30 and 21:05.70 to finish 19th and 21st respectively. Gianna Kennedy (El Paso/El Paso) and Julia Maciel (San Antonio/Highlands) rounded out the Top 5 for Texas Lutheran.

The Bulldogs finished 4th in the 5K race as a team - a few seconds behind NAIA squad Ave Maria.

In the men's 8K, EJ Tongee (Richmond/Fulshear) paced the Bulldogs finishing the 8K in 28:57.95 to finish 21st. Next to cross the finish line for the Bulldogs was Austin Szewczyk (Round Rock/Cedar Ridge) who posted a time of 29:47.29 to finish 31st. Matthew Hoffmann (San Antonio/Clark) and Ryan Hernandez (Dallas/Uplift Peak Preparatory) followed close behind posting times of 30:29.37 and 30:37.86 to finish 35th and 38th.  Koby Green (San Antonio/Clark) rounded out the Top 5 for the Bulldogs finishing 41st with a time of 30:56.10. The Men's team placed 4th as well.

Next, Texas Lutheran Cross Country races again next week in a meet hosted by Our Lady of the Lake. Details are still to be determined.