VIDEO: McKenna Spaulding Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman cross-country teams will travel to Charlotte, NC, on Friday to compete in the Royals XC Challenge, coming off an impressive performance by both sides at the ASICS Invitational.
Sophomore Colten Lee, who led the Eagles at ASICS, secured first place in the 8k at 24:47.88 and looks to replicate that success in Charlotte.
"The race felt good," Lee said following the ASICS Invitational. "Coach Lee said this was the one I could go out there and win… We talked about the two second-place finishes, so I was ready to go out there and do what I needed to do to get first, and it felt good to do that."
In the ASICS, Lee was excited to see the Eagles work as a team, with some important pieces returning to the fold and others stepping up to contribute at a high level.
"The team did great," Lee said. "To have Brent Borden back, although not at full capacity yet, but just to have him back was really good… Garrett Wilson ran a great race as well, and really the team locked in and had a great race, and the results showed."
Going into the Royals XC Challenge, Lee acknowledges the stout competition that awaits the Eagles but believes that the course plays to the Eagles' advantage.
"The competition is huge," Lee said. "There's going to be a lot of nationally ranked teams… We know it's a flat course, and a lot of guys got their PR on that course, so it's going to be good to go out there and compete."
Former Eagle Luke Greer set a school record in the 8k at the course in 2018, running a 23:57.0 en route to a 5th-place finish, so Lee is ready to compete at a high level just as those before him did.
"I'm ready to go out there and compete again," Lee said. "I'm going to go out there with the best guys… I know there's going to be a lot of good competition, so I'm just going to go out there and compete and see what I can do."
On the women's side, McKenna Spaulding played a large role in the 1st-place finish at the ASICS Invitational, finishing 18th at 19:41.06, and she believes the key to success was working as a team.
"I think we worked as a team," Spaulding said. "Our girls really worked together in the race… We saw each other and really encouraged each other through it. If we saw Carson-Newman colors, we were working to push to each other, so that really helped."
Spaulding is no stranger to the course in Charlotte, coming into the race with some familiarity and overall enjoyment of the course.
"I ran this course in high school," Spaulding said. "I really liked it. The finish is really nice… There are little hills, but you can really catch people and work up those hills which I'm really excited for."
Going into the race, Spaulding has high expectations for her performance.
"I'm hoping to PR," Spaulding said. "Also, to get our top six really close together because that is what we've been working on, and we've been doing really good with that."
The Eagles look to build on their success from both the men and the women in the ASICS Invitational on Friday at the Royals XC Challenge, which gets underway at 5:05 PM.
