JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in the 2014 season, the Carson-Newman cross country team will finally run against someone not in the Eagles' gray uniforms.
The Eagles head north to Berea, Ky. for the Berea Invitational. Besides the host Berea Mountaineers, Carson-Newman will be running Kentucky State, West Virginia State, Virginia-Wise and South Atlantic Conference foe Lincoln Memorial
"Right now, with how we are training, I want to see our team just be competitive and relevant in the results," coach Tony Parrilla said. "We're looking at the big picture rather than what is right in front of us, so we are just going to get the results of what we have, fine tune and get ready for conference."
Leading the Eagles will be freshman Lachlan Dickie (Knoxville, Tenn.) and sophomore Nick Guerra (Richardson, Texas). Dickie's first two runs have been the quickest times for Carson-Newman, while Guerra has been the second-quickest runner, barely trailing Dickie.
"That's the reason we brought him in so we can go ahead and have a few of the stallions bring everyone up and just learn to run as a team rather than as individuals," Parrilla said.
Heading into the women's competiton in the Bluegrass State, three Eagles are looking to lead their squad. Freshman Tori Gaul (Salisbury, N.C.), sophomore Sara Honaker (Mason, Ohio) and junior Hannah Kiser (Cedar Park, Texas) have all finished with the top-three times in the first two runs of the season.
"On the girls' side, I'm really blessed and fortunate to have three that are very interchangeable: one that came over from swimming, one that had a rough track season last season but she is back on it and a rookie," Parrilla said.
The Berea Invitational will be run Saturday morning in Berea, Ky.