Rachel Strayer
Rachel Strayer
Height: 5-6
Year: Senior
Hometown: Murfreesboro, TN
High School: Siegel High School
Major: Exercise Science

2021: Finished 19th at the SAC Cross Country Championships to earn Third Team All-SAC honors. Finished 18th at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regionals to earn USTFCCCA All-Region Honors. Is the only Carson-Newman cross country competitor to earn All-Region Honors three years in a row. Finished third in the 5K at the Tusculum Open with a time of 20:09.07. Finished 19th in the Asics Invitational in the 5K with a time of 18:54.6. Was the lead runner for Carson-Newman at every race this season. 

2020: Cross Country did not compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic

2019: Strayer began her sophomore campaign at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational 5k where she finished first overall in a time of 19:01.85. After missing the Wingate Invitational due to an injury, Strayer triumphantly returned at the Louisville Classic where she placed third out of 533 racers with a 5k time of 18:12.5. Strayer was the top women's finisher for C-N at the team's season finale at the Queens Royals Challenge 5k. At the SAC Championships, Strayer finished fifth overall out of 86 racers with a time of 22:50.0 in the 6k. That performance earned her a spot on the SAC's All-Conference First Team. She followed that performance up by placing sixth at the NCAA Southeast Regional out of 181 participants in the 6k with a time of 22:20.6. Strayer then received an at-large bid to the NCAA National Championships, becoming the first individual female Carson-Newman runner to be selected to attend since Aubrey Morris in 2008. Strayer placed 101st-place out of 261 participants at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships women's 6k, setting a lifetime best time of 21:39.6. The underclassman had one of the most successful seasons in program history as she was the top finisher on the women's side for the Eagles in every event.

2018 (Cross Country): Strayer started the year with a bang at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational finishing in 13th place at her first collegiate competition. She set the school record for the 5-kilometer race at the Queens Royals Challenge on October 12th finishing 31st out of 412 runners with a time of 18:13. She finished her freshman year of cross-country earning All-Conference and All-Region honors with her top-15 finishes at the SAC and Region Championships.