HOOVER, Ala. – The Valdosta State men's and women's cross country team competed in the Blazer Classic on Friday, Oct. 16, hosted by University of Alabama-Birmingham, which included a number of fellow Gulf South Conference members and top Division I teams from the south region.
 
The Valdosta State men's team finished fourth overall and second among Division II schools competing with an average time of 26:37, the fastest team average since 1982. Also finishing fourth overall and second among Division II runners was junior Brishen House, who now has the school record for the fastest 8K race time. House set the record with a final time of 25:24.9, which is more than 20 seconds faster than the previous record set by Jesse Prince in 2014.
 
"On his part, it was a masterfully run race," Valdosta State cross country head coach Todd Smoot said. "He steadily moved up throughout the race and paced himself tremendously. With that being said, I know there's more fuel in the tank for him and his teammates and we're anxiously waiting for the Gulf South Conference Championship race."
 
It wasn't just House that set a new personal best during Friday's race as there were a pair of Blazers who crossed the finish line with their best 8K time to date. Senior Nick Flatt finished fourth out of all Division II runners competing and continues to improve upon his personal best with a time of 26:12.1 - 35 seconds faster than his previous best he achieved at the Florida State Invitational on Oct. 2, 2020. The third and final Blazer for the men's team to set a new personal best was sophomore Braedon Bensley, who finished with a time of 28:01.5.
 
The Valdosta State women's team finished fourth among Division II schools with an average time of 25:10. Junior Samantha Murray was the first Blazer to cross the finish line and placed sixth overall amongst other Division II runners. Murray set a new 6K personal best with a time of 23:36.1, beating out her old time by two minutes. This marks the third race in a row that Murray has set a new personal best. Junior Kailey Brough, who was the second Blazer to cross the finish line, also finished in the top 20 for Division II runners and set a new personal best time of 24:54.4. Placing third for the Blazers was senior Olivia Rosener who beat her previous 6K time by over a minute, setting her new personal best at 25:13.0.
 
Both the men's and women's team are slated to compete in the Gulf South Conference Championship Saturday, Oct. 31, in Huntsville, Ala. Visit vstateblazers.com for information on both cross country teams and all of VSU's 12 intercollegiate athletic programs.