Ruiz Secures Top-10 Program Record At NCAA Southeast Regional Championship

Friday, November 10

Spartanburg, SC

Murray State

2023 Southeast Regional Championship

2023 Murray State men's cross country team

Ruiz Secures Top-10 Program Record At NCAA Southeast Regional Championship

11/10/2023 3:45:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Jorge Ruiz notched the ninth-fastest 10K time in program history on Friday.

By: Drew Parsley/Graduate Assistant

The Murray State men's cross country team finished Friday's NCAA Southeast Regional Championship in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 27th place to close out the 2023 season.

"We knew the race was going to go out fast and that can be intimidating for a 10K race," cross country coach Jordan Johnston said.

Jorge Ruiz led the Racers on Friday, ending the 10K race in 62nd out of 228 finishing competitors. He recorded a time of 30:28.4, a new personal best and the ninth-fastest 10K time in MSU men's cross country history.

"Jorge slowly worked his way up the pack and had the strongest-looking finish of his college career," Johnston said.

The graduate student also beat out his time from last season's regional by over a minute.

Jarod Willis also finished the race with a new personal best, ending with a time of 31:54.2. He topped his previous best in a 10K by nearly two minutes.

"Jarod really showed out today with possibly the most impressive performance of the day," Johnston said. "He pushed the pace from the start and never let up."

Vicente Correia was the third of four Racers to beat a personal best, ending with a time of 32:40.8. He beat out his previous 10K personal best from the 2022 regional by just under 13 seconds.

"Vicente had one of his strongest mental races today," Johnston said. "He was faced with some adversity and you could see him really work through that as the race went on and I'm really proud of the way he handled himself."

Gabe Russell finished with a time of 33:35.2 in his first career collegiate 10K race. Nathan Quinn rounded out the counting scores for the Racers with a time of 34:44.2.

"It is nice to see a freshman in the top five and fight hard in a new race distance," Johnston added. "I look forward to seeing him develop over the next year."