The women’s and men’s cross-country teams competed in the Rhodes College Cross Country Invitational this past Saturday morning.
The women’s team started off their season strong coming in ninth place with a team score of 194, and the top five runners averaging a time of 25:11. The race was six kilometers long, marking the first 6k race for the freshmen runners. This did not seem to impact Freshmen Mary Pearce as she came in seventh place with a time of 23:37. Eliza Poe followed Pearce in 25th place, and right behind Poe was Megan Lampley and Zena Dorris finishing just seven seconds and five spots from each other. Zola Dorris rounded out the top five for the women’s team with a time of 27:15.
The men’s 8K race started just after the women’s race concluded. The team ended up placing fifth out of 18 teams. The Lions were led by top finisher Daniel Puckett in 12th place who put up a personal best time of 26:12, followed by Barrett Poe in 18th place. Bo Scott was the next finisher for the Lions in 28th place, and then Drew Williams came in 47th. Brock Windham was the fifth finisher for the men’s team with a 13 second personal best time to round out the Lions team scoring. The team concluded with a score of 187 points with an average top five time of 26:58.
Lions’ top finisher Daniel Puckett said the following about his racing performance on Saturday, “As far as my individual performance goes, I am very happy. Starting the season with a PR is always a great sign, especially considering the warmer and humid conditions.” Puckett is hoping to build from this race to keep moving forward for himself and the team. He said that the team was ecstatic about the results. “We were able to beat a lot of our competition that has been beating us in previous seasons, and our team is as good now as it was during our peak last year.” But more important than race results, Puckett wants to acknowledge the mindset and attitude the team has, something that goes beyond the course. “Another great thing about this team is our goal to give the glory to God. This is a group of guys that have a desire to live for Christ and to show others how He has blessed us and how great that He is.”
The cross-country teams will continue their season by competing in the Live in Louisville Cross Country Classic October 5 in Louisville, Ky.
