Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Sun Belt Conference Championship
Kylee Mastin Wins Gold, Becomes First Women’s XC Conference Champion in Program History
11/1/2024 1:57:00 PM | Cross Country
Marshall women finish 3rd, Men 6th
FOLEY, Ala. - For the first time in its 39-season history, Marshall women's cross country has an individual champion with Kylee Mastin.
The Herd's graduate senior from New Carlisle, Ohio won gold Friday morning at the Sun Belt Conference Championships with a personal-best 5K time of 17:06. Mastin was solidly in third for most of the race before out-sprinting two competitors to win the historic title.
𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡.
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) November 1, 2024
Kylee Mastin from @HerdTFXC captures the individual title at the Women's #SunBeltXC Championship with a time of 17:06.43. ☀️👟 pic.twitter.com/aH2MbajZWN
"She deserves it, she works so hard," Head Coach Caleb Bowen said. "She wakes up at 4 a.m. every day to get her run in and do our workouts with her rotations. That dedication is incredible and that is why she won. She is such a calculated and tactical runner, with 600 meters to go I don't think there was any question."
Last season, Mastin's friend and teammate Abby Herring became the program's first NCAA National Championship Qualifier. Mastin joins Herring as one of four women's athletes all-time to earn three All-Conference awards.
The top result propelled the Marshall women to a third place podium finish. Hannah Wyler earned her first Cross Country All-Conference status with a ninth-place finish and a time of 17:54, also a personal best.
"The women ran really well," said Bowen. "They were in contention with the top-2 all day, Kylee winning it, Hannah getting ninth, having two All-Conference runners is really awesome. We're going to re-load too with the youth we have, having some of those young girls do really well also, it's going to be fun."
The Herd men finished sixth, with sophomore Brady Dawkins leading the way after a personal best 8K time of 25:36. The result was a culmination of hard work following a DNF due to injury as a freshman in the Championship race for the Hurricane native.
The team's 1-5 split was just over 63 seconds for the young Marshall squad.
"Our 1-5 split was good, and we have been shooting for that all season, so seeing that was really exciting," Bowen said. "They moved up through the field throughout the day. The biggest challenge this season was not having that senior like an Evan White who is a low-stick for everyone, but we do have a great group of guys who are continuing to get better and it is fun to see those guys take the next steps."
FULL RESULTS:
Men's 8K Full Results
(1) 24. Brady Dawkins 25:36
(2) 27. Garrett Ferguson 26:02
(3) 34. John Duvall 26:27
(4) 35. Justin Lipscomb 26:30
(5) 39. Kazuma Bowring 26:39
(6) 63. Nathaniel Schneider 28:26
(7) 64. Zach Cannon 28:37
(8) 65. Donny Speas 28:49
Women's 5K Full Results
(𝟏) 𝟏. 𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟕:𝟎𝟔
(2) 9. Hannah Wyler 17:54
(3) 22. McKenna Woodruff 18:28
(4) 37. Asha Bora 18:47
(5) 46. Taylor Spencer 19:02
(6) 53. Ellie Hosaflook 19:14
(7) 59. Jalynn Browning 19:26
UP NEXT
The Herd will race at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. Results from their races at State College, Penn. on Nov. 15 will determine team or individual status for the National XC Championships.
Follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @HerdTFXC for coverage all season long of Marshall cross country.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
Players Mentioned
