The Florida A&M men’s cross country team placed in the top five in its first meet of the season at Troy University in Troy, Ala., Saturday.
The Rattlers competed against schools such as Troy University, Auburn University and South Alabama. Overall they placed fourth, but individual runners came in different positions in their respective races.
Men’s head coach Wayne Angel was pleased with his team’s performance, even though they came within seconds of a top three finish.
“The team did good overall,” Angel said. “We were three points from placing third.”
Shuaib Winters, the 2010 Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC) individual cross country champion, finished in second with a time of 15:53.
“This was a great start for the season. I had a little strategy and I stuck to the plan,” Winters said. “I ran much better than I did last year. I finished second overall and first in the collegiate ranks.”
Lamere Buchanan, the men’s team co-captain, finished in 12th place with a time of 17:02.
“I did pretty well in this meet. My time was better this year, it dropped from last year’s race,” Buchanan said.
The team began this season with a strong start. A trend that both players and coaches hope will continue through the conference championships.
“The team did well in this meet. I was very happy with our performance as a whole,” Buchanan said. “From looking at the guys performance, we are going to do pretty good this year and hopefully win the MEAC.”
The team will be heading to the Bethune-Cookman Invitational Wednesday, in Daytona Beach, Fla. for their next meet.