Five Ravens in Top 7 Leads Men's Cross Country to Season-Opening Win at Roger Williams
Antoine Gisore wins his harrier debut for Franklin Pierce
BRISTOL, R.I. (September 7, 2013) – The Franklin
Pierce University men’s cross country team exploded out of
the gates to open the 2013 season on Saturday, as five Ravens
finished among the top seven in the individual standings to pace
the team a first-place finish at the Roger Williams Invitational in
Bristol, R.I. The Ravens turned in a score of just 18 points, which
was 49 points ahead of second-place finisher and host-school Roger
Williams (57 points).
The win was the first for Franklin Pierce since joining the varsity ranks last season.
Junior Antoine Gisore (Concord, N.H.) made his harrier debut for Franklin Pierce after sitting out last fall following his transfer from New England College, and was spectacular by winning the individual competition with a time of 16:19.30. Friend and fellow NEC-transfer, sophomore Makopa Rugabirwa (Concord, N.H.), was right behind as he placed second in his FPU thinclad debut with a mark of 16:21.27.
Another Raven was making his cross country debut in a Franklin Pierce uniform on Saturday, but this was an overall collegiate debut, was freshman B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) who turned in a solid third-place finish in a time of 16:22.51.
Sophomore Colton Ham (Webster, N.H.) followed in fifth place with a time of 16:26.57, while rookie Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.) rounded out the top five with a seventh-place showing of 16:40.77 in his collegiate debut as well.
Franklin Pierce returns to action next Saturday when the Ravens host the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup on the Rindge campus beginning at 10 a.m.
For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s cross country, please visit the team’s page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce cross country apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)