MARYVILLE, Tenn.—In the second meet of the season, both Carson-Newman cross country squads stole the goal as the men and women's team finished first in their respected races at the Maryville College Invitational Saturday morning.
"Today was a great day for both the men and the women. They came out and competed hard and I'm happy that the results showed," coach Tyler Stepp said following the meet. "These kids put in the work day in and day out, so it's always exciting to see them compete. Today is just another stepping stone to getting where we need to be for conference."
The victory for the women is the second in as many tries as the squad claimed the top-prize at the Tusculum Open on September 7 to begin the season. The men's first-place finish is the first of the year for the sector after placing second-overall in the season opening meet.
First-year Carson-Newman cross country coach, Stepp, has now began his tenure with the Eagles with three wins overall and one second place finish between both the men and women's teams.
The women competed in the five-kilometer run while the men took part in the eight-kilometer race as the running surface featured grass, gravel, wooded trials and a stretch of road at times. Carson-Newman claimed a combined six top-10 finishes with two more 11th-place tallies.
Hannah Greene (Talbott, Tenn.) led the way for the women with a third-place time of 26:07.58. After leading all the Eagles at the Tusculum Open, Sky McCarter (Sevierville, Tenn.) put forth another good showing with a seventh-place finish of 26:39.41. Sophomore Priscah Jemeli (Eldorett, Kenya) and junior Sarah Sharp (Lewis Center, Ohio) also tallied top-10 times on the day.
"Another good team-run by our women. It was Sky last week and now it was Hannah today," Stepp said. "These girls are constantly pushing each other to get the best out of their teammate. That works wonders for this team."
The men were paced once again by first-year Eagle Amos Korir (Eldorett, Kenya) as the freshman tallied the highest-collegiate finish on the day with a 29:05.60 time in the 8k. Luke Greer (Abington, United Kingdom), who was competition in his first-career race for C-N, finished fourth overall with a time of 30:15.27 while Anthony Jackson (Manchester, Tenn.) came in at No. 11.
"What Luke Greer did today was pretty impressive," Stepp said. "For a guy who has not ran for us in a long time, he came out and really put on a good show. We hope to have that kind of consistency from him throughout the year."
Carson-Newman will resume action next weekend at the Royals Challenge.
Carson-Newman Women: 1st-place – Average time: 26:43.57 – 5K
|
Name |
Time |
Overall Place |
|
26:07.58 |
3rd |
|
|
26:39.41 |
7th |
|
|
24:44.41 |
8th |
|
|
26:48.28 |
9th |
|
|
Rebekah White |
27:18.18 |
11th |
|
Ashlyne Page |
29:02.04 |
18th |
|
Kathleen O'Neill |
29:57.37 |
22nd |
Carson-Newman Men: 1st-place – Average time: 31:18.85 – 8K
|
Name |
Time |
Overall Place |
|
29:05.60 |
2nd |
|
|
30:15.27 |
4th |
|
|
31:18.01 |
11th |
|
|
31:53.75 |
15th |
|
|
34:01.64 |
26th |
-CN-