Rock Hill, S.C.—Lachlan Dickie wins his second South Atlantic Conference Runner of the Week honor of the season after finishing in 13th place in the Men's Silver Division last Saturday in the Greater Louisville Classic at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, K.Y.
The Carson-Newman first place finisher wrapped up the day with a time of 26:21.81 in the eight-kilometer run. The top-15 finish came in a field that yielded just over 300 hundred runners from approximately 118 Universities from all across the United States and in parts of Canada.
"The start was a little crazy," Dickie said. "I kind of had to calm myself down a little bit. That first mile was a little fast, but eventually I was able to get in a groove. By the middle of the race, I was able to start picking people off one by one and eventually I found myself up towards the front."
The Astro Turf SAC Runner of the Week aided Carson-Newman to a 16th place overall finish.
Lachlan was not only the lone Eagle runner who finished in the top-15, but the sophomore from Knoxville, Tenn. was the only Carson-Newman runner to finish in the top-100 in the race, while completing the course nearly two minutes faster than the next Eagle finisher.
The award was Dickie's second of his career, both coming in the 2015 season, after locking up the honor with a first place finish at the Victor Ashe Fall Classic on September 5th, in Knoxville, Tenn. The sophomore crossed the finish line with a 16:24.7 time in the five-kilometer race.
"For me, this season started back in May. Now, we are in October and your finally seeing all that hard work paying off," Dickie said. "Everyone is improving and that's what it is all about."
The Greater Louisville Classic is currently the second largest cross country meet in the United States this year and offered a number of schools that ranged in divisions. Led by Division I powerhouses No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 6 Iowa State, the meet welcomed a combined 2,700 runners from over 58 nationally ranked teams, including eight former Division I National Championship teams.
Lachlan will be at it again, along with the rest of the Carson-Newman cross country team, this Saturday in Owensboro, K.Y. for the Fast Cats Classic. This will be the Eagles' final tune up before the SAC Conference Meet that will take place on October 24th.
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