By Brian Tynes

Sports Writer

Facing its stiffest competition of the season, Tech's men's cross country team finished tied for 12th at the Auburn Invitational at Indian Pines Golf Course in Auburn, Ala., on Oct. 11.

Senior Stefan Malmquist led the Bulldogs by finishing 29th with a time of 26 minutes and 11.55 seconds in the 8,000-meter run.

Gary Stanley, track and field and cross country head coach, said the meet was important for Tech's young runners.

"I thought we lined up and ran well," Stanley said. "It was the first big meet for our freshmen, and they kept their composure well. The pace was pretty hot early. Our runners did a good job, and we beat some pretty good teams."

Tech finished ahead of Tulane University and the University of New Orleans but behind Louisiana State University to take second among the Louisiana schools in the meet.

LSU finished third overall behind Portland State University and host Auburn University. The University of Alabama and Florida State University concluded the top five.

Freshman Kinsey Dinnel placed second for the Bulldogs and 69th overall, finishing 1:10.43 behind Malmquist.

Jeremy Cobb, Zach Schuler and Sam Karanja all finished within 30 seconds of Dinnel and placed 80th, 88th and 90th, respectively.

Nathan Davis and Jesse Petrus rounded out the Bulldog team, placing 146th and 153rd in a field of 185.

Tech's overall team score of 307 left them in the only tie of the meet with Vanderbilt University.

The team was scheduled to run at Northwestern State University on Oct. 22, but has pulled out so it can focus on the Western Athletic Conference Championship meet.

Stanley said not running at Northwestern increases Tech's chances of putting up a good showing in the conference championship.

"It was a small meet, and I felt we needed a couple more good practice sessions to prepare for the WAC meet," Stanley said.

The Bulldogs will host the WAC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 30 at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston.