TUSCALOOSA - Jax State freshman Mark Roper placed third in the men's 5000m at the Crimson Tide Invitational on Friday night out of nearly 50 total participants. Roper clocked a time of 14:17.48 in the event, trailing just two individuals from Kennesaw State and leading the Gamecocks. 

"This was a good way to wrap up a successful spring," said Jax State head coach Jeremy Provence, "This is definitely something to build on moving forward."

Roper finished as the highest placing freshman with the next best rookie taking home 10th place. 

Mark has had a great freshman year. It's been great to see his development the past 8 months. Mark is an incredibly mature freshman. His preparation is that of an upperclassman.

Junior Jack Lowe and senior Rodrigo Fraga were the next top Gamecock finishers, placing ninth and 13th respectively. The pair each turned in sub-15-minute times to finish among the top 15 runners. 

"Jack also made tremendous strides and has improved his marks across the board this past cross country and track season. He is a leader by example by always being mentally and physically prepared."

Dennis Kipkurui led the next wave of Gamecock finishers, placing 25^th in just 15 minutes and 18 seconds while freshmen Juan Camacho Tabuenca and Blake Graham finished 29^th and 32^nd respectively.

Several of our freshmen guys showed tremendous progress. Juan, Stephen [Billman] and Blake all set personal bests this spring and most importantly, they are high character guys who work hard and want to get better. 

The Gamecocks were rounded out by J.R. Proctor (34^th), Tanner Rice (38^th) and Kaden Harris (40^th) in the 5000m at the Crimson Tide Invitational.

It was great to see Tanner and Kaden Harris compete. They have battled some setbacks the past few months so for them to be able to end the year on a positive is huge for their confidence heading into summer training. 

The Crimson Tide Invitational will be the final event for Fraga and Proctor, both Jax State seniors.  

"To our seniors, Rodrigo and JR, we are grateful for their continued commitment and support," said Provence, "They have been through a lot the past four years, but they finished about as well as we could have asked for.

"Both ran personal best the past couple weeks and both have a promising career path in line after graduation. I couldn't be prouder to have them representing Jax State Cross Country as alumni."