JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After a solid performance, including three all-conference selections at the SAC Championships, the Carson-Newman men's and women's cross country teams look to finish the season on a high note at the NCAA DII Southeast Regional in Oakwood, Georgia.
Freshman Peyton Couch has been asked to play a big role in her first year with the Eagles, and she has stepped up to the challenge by producing at a high level.
"It's been going pretty good," Couch said. "I feel like my times have gradually been going down, and I'm excited about that… I love the team, the girls, and the atmosphere around here."
The course is familiar to Couch and the Eagles, finishing 2nd as a team at the UNG Cross Country Invite in September. For Couch, her performance in Oakwood was the best in her short time with the Eagles.
"That was actually the course I PR'd in," Couch said. "It was the 5k course, so it is going to be extended, but I think we are all prepared and can take on whatever the course brings."
Mainly running the 5k in high school, Couch believes her short time at C-N has prepared her well for the additional challenge of the 6k.
"The training has helped tremendously," Couch said. "I've had way better training in college, so I think that and the longer distances because I'm running more mileage than I ever have, so that also helps."
The pack mentality has helped the Eagles in many races this year, and Couch believes that it is key to the Eagles' success.
"It helps in scoring," Couch said. "The closer we are together, the better our team score… We're all really good at pushing each other and encouraging each other, and I think that's the reason why our team does so well together."
On the men's side, coming off an all-conference selection, Colten Lee looks to finish out the season strong at a course he has had success.
"I really like the course personally," Lee said. "I know a lot of the guys do too… It's a really good course, it's really flat and something that we're familiar with, so that experience is going to be good going into the regional."
After a conference race that left some to be desired for the Eagles, Lee and his teammates look to leave it all out there against a competitive field.
"There's going to be really good competition," Lee said. "We didn't exactly have the conference meet that we wanted, so this is kind of our redemption story… We want to go out there and prove something."
Similar to the women, the theme of running in packs stays consistent, and it is something Lee and the rest of the Eagles want to execute this week.
"Overall, we want to work on consistency and staying in groups," Lee said. "It's going to be a 10k race, so it's key that we stay strong throughout the whole race."
The Eagles will look to take the lessons learned from the SAC Championships into the Southeast Regional at 8:30 AM on Saturday in Oakwood, Georgia.
