GEORGETOWN – McMurry successfully defended its 2023 SU Showdown women's championship and placed second in the men's race on Saturday.
 
Savanna Danner led McMurry in third place, covering the six kilometers in 25:00.65. Chloe McLellan was fourth at 25:11.76 and Anna Dinaso was fifth in 25:20.79. Ashley Shea placed seventh in 25:33.58 and Katelyn Hernandez rounded out the scoring in 10th at 26:20.06.
 
"Savanna Danner performed exceptionally well on the hilly course on a hot day, and Katelyn Hernandez did as well," said McMurry head coach Corey Koch. "The women's top five all finished in the top 10 individually, which is excellent for our first 6k of the season."
 
Abigail Huffhines covered the course in 27:41.44 and Jasmine Hunter finished in 28:17.90. Also for the War Hawks, Madison Soultanova finished at 29:51.29.
 
The McMurry men finished second behind Southwestern with 71 points
 
Rogelio Ramirez was sixth in 28:21.54 on the eight-kilometer course to lead the War Hawk men. Roman Perez was eighth at 28:36.99 and Isaac Gonzales placed ninth at 28:42.11. Gabriel Sanchez ran the course in 29:51.48 and Antonio Martinez completed the scoring five with a time of 30:02.37.
 
"For the men, Roger Ramirez had a great day stepping up while his teammates were having a rough day," Kock said. "It definitely wasn't how we wanted to finish as a team but it is early in the season."
 
Jonathan Alter ran a 30:12.57, followed by Patrick Esparza in 27th at 30:26.26.
 
Also for McMurry, Marcos Tellez finished in 30:41.27, followed by Jeremiah Rodriguez at 32:31.98, Kevin Gomez in 34:20.27, Eddie Garcia in 34:28.14 and Victor Leos in 35:10.61.
 
McMurry returns to the trails on October 5 at Dallas Baptist University's Old Glory Gallop.