WINGATE, N.C.—The Eagles concluded their 2015 cross country slate with a respectable showing in the Southeast Regional Meet on Saturday morning in Wingate, N.C., as the men finished with an 18th place showing and the women finished in 12th place overall in the 10- and eight-kilometer runs.
"We had a great showing today at the Regional Meet," coach Tony Parrilla said. "We have a lot of young people on the team that got some good experience. We have been constantly improving. Everyone knows we are coming, we just have to put it together.
The running course, which was arguably going to be one of the fastest surfaces the Eagles would run on all season, was in duress because of rain in the area over the past couple of days.
"The course was completely covered in mud," Parrilla said. "In some places, it was past the ankles with mud and in other places, half the calves' muscles were covered in water."
The men finished the day with an average team time of 37:24.5 in the 10-kilometer race, while placing 18th out of 22 teams that featured 160 total participants. Lachlan Dickie (Knoxville, Tenn.) once again led the way with a time of 34:16.4 which was good enough for 17th overall. The sophomore beat the next Eagle finisher by over two minutes, and the showing was good enough for a spot on the All-Southeastern Regional team at the conclusion of the day.
Freshman Anthony Jackson (Manchester, Tenn.) was next in line for Carson-Newman, coming in at 76th overall with a time of 36:54.7. Nick Guerra (Richardson, Texas) also nabbed a top-100 finish, by completing the course with a 37:23.3 time coming in at 91st.
"We had a couple of bumps and bruises that we couldn't overcome, but we still competed well," Parrilla said. "We had a couple of guys really step up, like Lachlan [Dickie] and Anthony Jackson. Individually, we had some good performances but still have to keep working to get where we want to be."
On the women's side, Hannah Green was the first Carson-Newman runner to cross the finish line in the eight-kilometer race for the 12th place Eagles. The transfer sophomore did so at the 24:59.4 mark for a 41st place finish, for a squad that averaged a team time of 25:48.6.
Priscah Jemeli (Eldorett, Kenya), who normally paces the women, came in second on the team and 46th overall with a time of 25:08.2. Junior Sara Honaker (Mason, Ohio) and sophomore Sarah Sharp (Lewis Center, Ohio) also contributed top-100 times, finishing at the 25:49.0 and 26.10.3 marks.
"The funny thing about the running course not being great today was that half of our girls set personal records today," Parrilla said. "The girls finished 12th and that's a lot better than they did last year. Hannah [Green] was absolute trooper in the off conditions, by finishing first on our team. All in all for the girls, it was a really good day because they were just ready to go."
Carson-Newman will conclude all team activates for the 2015 season with another intrasquad three-kilometer run on Wednesday, November 11th, at Green farm in Morristown, Tenn. The contest will begin at 6 p.m.
Carson-Newman Men (18th overall) 10K Times
|
17) Lachlan Dickie (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
34:16.4 |
|
76) Anthony Jackson (Manchester, Tenn.) |
36:54.7 |
|
91) Nick Guerra (Richardson, Texas) |
37:23.3 |
|
108) Clark Dixon (Tullahoma, Tenn.) |
38:08.4 |
|
133) Alec Bross (Charlotte, N.C.) |
40:19.4 |
|
143) Joshua Marsh (Orlando, Fla.) |
42:39.4 |
Carson-Newman Women (12th overall) 8K Times
|
41) Hannah Green (Talbott, Tenn.) |
24:59.4 |
|
46) Priscah Jemeli (Eldorett, Kenya) |
25:08.2 |
|
64) Sara Honaker (Mason, Ohio) |
25:49.0 |
|
83) Sarah Sharp ( Lewis Center, Ohio) |
26:10.3 |
|
106) Aiyana Martino (Kalispell, Mont.) |
26:55.5 |
|
109) Skye McCarter (Sevierville, Tenn.) |
27:05.3 |
|
112) Ashlyn Page (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
27:15.1 |