BOONE, N.C. – The App State men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2025 season at home with the Covered Bridge Open on Friday. The men placed second in the team standings with 47 points, while the women placed third overall with 82 points.
In the men's 6K race, sophomore
Thomas Wlazlowski set pace for the Mountaineers, stopping the clock at 18:09.7 for a personal best and seventh-place finish. Following close behind Wlazlowski was senior
Ethan Lipham (18:36.9, eighth) and freshman
Tate Shore (18:31.0, ninth, PR). Sophomore
Rowan Gwin and redshirt senior
Chase Burrell rounded out the top 15 with times of 18:36.0 (PR) and 18:41.3, respectively.
"The race was really good for us today. We are really excited for the effort that
Thomas Wlazlowski put in today.
Ethan Lipham looked strong. We had
Tate Shore step up today as a freshman, which was awesome," said men's distance coach
Brad Herbster. "We have high expectations for the season. This group that we have has a lot of talent, a lot of youth, and things are looking bright for us for the future. This is the first time we kind of touch pace in the early season, so we're excited about our next race at Virginia."
Sophomore
Breanna Budzinski led the Mountaineers in the women's 5K race and stopped the clock at 17:52.6 for a personal best. Budzinski placed 13th overall. In their collegiate debuts, freshmen
Josie Jackson and
Ashby Williams finished 16th (18:05.8, PR) and 17th (18:07.5, PR), respectively. With a personal best 5K time of 18:27.5, sophomore
Savannah Moore finished 26th.
"Today was a great start to our 2025 cross country season. I love opening up our season at home on our home course," said women's distance coach
Annie Richards. "It allows our team to execute a plan and feel comfortable knowing the route and what we're trying to get done. The team did a great job. We had good leadership on the team, helping with our young freshman class coming in and contributing really well today. When I compare this competition to the same time last year, we had almost exactly the same average, which shows us that we're in a good spot and we're right where we need to be, but I think a lot of our athletes finished today knowing there's more work to be done. They have bigger goals and there are going to be some bigger and better competitions later on in the season that we're really aiming for and focusing on."
Georgia's Matias Reynaga won the men's 6K race with a time of 18:00.0, while South Carolina's Teresa Cherotich won the women's 5K with a time of 16:52.8.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will get an early preview of the regional course on Sept. 12 as they head to Charlottesville, Va. for the Virginia Invitational. The men's 8K race is slated for 8:45 a.m. with the women's 5K to follow at 9:30 a.m.
Covered Bridge Team Standings
Men's Team Standings
1. Georgia – 15 points
2. App State – 47 points
3. Tennessee Tech – 73 points
4. College of Charleston – 102 points
5. Gardner-Webb – 150 points
Women's Team Standings
1. South Carolina – 18 points
2. Georgia – 47 points
3. App State – 82 points
4. College of Charleston – 115 points
5. Tennessee Tech – 133 points
6. Gardner-Webb – 159 points
