FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu September 2, 2016 Egeland paces Yellowjackets in Rapid City MSUB Cross Country on Facebook | MSUB Cross Country on ISSUU | Results
The MSUB men’s cross country team’s Jorey Egeland was the Yellowjackets top finisher in Rapid City.
MSUB junior Jorey Egeland paces the MSUB men’s Yellowjacket team at the season’s opening meet in Rapid City, S.D. RAPID CITY, S.D. – Junior Jorey Egeland was MSUB’s top finisher at the South Dakota Mines Invitational during the opening meet of the 2016 season Friday. Egeland finished sixth in the men’s 8K distance in 26:52.00. Senior Garrett Love placed ninth in 27:11.00 for both of MSUB’s top-10 results. “Jorey looked really good and strong today,” MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. “He was mid-pack in the early miles and then moved steadily up. He ran negative splits, getting faster each mile which is really encouraging.” Junior Mark Hovland (14th, 27:35.00) and senior Josh Panasuk (19th, 28:11.00) were the third and fourth finishers for MSUB.
Freshman Ronald Venema from Pinesdale, Mont., and Corvallis High School made a big impact for the team. Competing in his first collegiate event, the newcomer completed the top-5 for the Yellowjackets placing 25th overall in 28:57.00. “Ron had a really good race as a freshman,” Coppock said. “He had one of the fastest mile finishes on the team and is capable this season of moving up in our top-5. His last mile was 5:13 and Jorey’s was just under that in 5:11. He has a lot of potential to move-up.” Festus Lagat from Gillete College won the event in 25:34.00. The Pronghorns placed three runners in the top-10, but were just outscored by Chadron State 35-42 as the Eagles went on to claim the team title. MSU Billings placed third in the team standing with 68 points. Host South Dakota School of Mines finished fourth with 93 points and Central Wyoming College was fifth with 148 points. Tyus Mendoza (29:02.00), Liam McKay (29:42.00), Jacob Marshall (29:47.00), and Isaiah Girard (30:44.00) completed the team finishers for the Yellowjackets. “I thought our team did well,” Coppock said. “They moved up a lot during the race. They ran even splits and passed a lot of runners in the last two miles. They should be a solid 10K team as they looked the best of any team in terms of the end of the race.” THE BUZZ: Egeland named St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Meet…nine competitors raced in the event for MSUB. UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets are in Spearfish, S.D., for the Yellow Jacket Invitational on Friday, Sept. 9. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--