FULL RESULTS

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Auburn University men's cross country team clocked a ninth-place finish at the 2023 Florida State Invitational on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park.

Freshman Basil Koech etched his name into the AUM record book once again, this time turning in the school's third-fastest 8K time. Koech finished seventh overall in a field of 353 runners with a time of 24:56.50.

THE WARMUP

Finish: 9th out of 31 teams
Event: Florida State Invitational, hosted by Florida State Univ.
Location: Tallahassee, Fla. | Apalachee Regional Park
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SCORING FIVE

• Koech placed inside the Top 10 and posted a time of 24:56.50.
• Connor Stoots raced a 26:10.80 as AUM's second finisher and placed 78th overall. 
• Freshman Dalton Benefield's 26:15.20 was third on the team and good enough for 84th overall.
• Auburn transfer Mark Foster finished 95th for the Warhawks with a time of 26:21.40.
• Brady Thomas rounded out AUM's scoring five with a time of 26:33.00 as he finished 103rd overall.

NOTABLES

• Koech earned his second spot on the AUM 8K leaderboard this season for AUM. 
• The race also marked the second time this season for Koech with a finish inside a race's Top 10 individuals.
• Thomas clocked the second-fastest 8K time of his AUM career. 

WORDS FROM THE WARHAWKS

"We're very proud of Basil for getting out and putting himself in a position to try and win the race," said head coach Ryan Thompson. "We definitely left some points on the course on both sides. I'm not disappointed with our team's results but both teams came off the course feeling like they could have run faster."

UP NEXT

The Warhawks travel to Charlotte, N.C. to race in the Queens University of Charlotte Royals Challenge on Oct. 6 at McAlpine Creek Park.

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