LOUISVILLE, KY – The Carson-Newman cross country team saw two top-50 finishes at the Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.
Sophomore Rachel Strayer (Murfreesboro, TN) finished third out of 533 racers with a 5k time of 18:12.5.
It was a triumphant return to action for Strayer who was sidelined for the Wingate Invitational due to injury.
"Pretty incredible performance coming off the back of a tough couple of weeks," Carson-Newman acting coach Luke Greer said. "She ran such a smart race, put herself in the right positions at the right time and I could not ask for anything more."
She was followed up by freshman Klara Naude (South Africa) who placed 292nd at 21:04.4 in the packed event.
"The fact it is her first ever cross country season is so impressive," Greer said. "Before this season she had never raced further than 1k so what she's doing is really cool. She's working really hard and seeing the result which will only increase her confidence."
Senior Aubree Cole (Cartersville, GA) and freshman Angela Dela Cruz (Morristown, TN) both placed in the top-370 as well.
In the men's 8k, graduate student Conal McCambridge (United Kingdom) was the 50th runner to cross the finish line out of 515 competitors. He has been the top men's finisher for the Eagles in all three events thus far in the 2019-20 campaign.
"Conal ran an all-around good race, with so many people in the race it is tough to get your bearings but he figured it out pretty swiftly and moved through the field," Greer said. "This is just another step along to championships season where we'll really see his strengths."
He was followed up by freshman Jasper Wilson (Chickamauga, GA) at 115th-place.
"Jasper has used his strength to move through each race and pick people off," Greer said. "He and all the freshmen are still learning how to race 8ks and this season is a good steppingstone for the rest of their running careers.
The team will run their final regular season event of the season at the Queens Royal Challenge in Charlotte, N.C. on Oct. 11th, 2019 at 4 p.m.
"As a whole we just need to keep building confidence and not be scared to push boundaries," Greer said. "There is a lot of potential in this group and they just need to keep learning from these experiences."
Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman cross country team all season long across C-N social media platforms and on cneagles.com