FAIRBURN, Ga - Rachel Strayer continued her strong start to the season, pacing the Eagles at the Asics Invitational with a top-20 finish on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Strayer finished 19th with a time of 18:54.53. Strayer has now finished inside the top-30 in seven of her last nine races.
"Rachel has taken a step forward in every race," says cross country coach Mike Spooner. "For her not having the summer she wanted, she hasn't been frustrated. We're confident in how far she's grown in two years and she takes each race one step at a time and has grown confidence."
The women finished 10th in the 5K run with 280 points and a total time of 1:39:21.67. It's the third straight top-10 finish this season for the Eagles' women's team. The Eagles placed above Division One schools Mercer and Georgia Southern. Samford won the women's championship with 36 points and a time of 1:31:35.40.
.@rachelmstrayer with a top-20 finish as the women's team earns their third straight top-10 finish of the season @CN_Track pic.twitter.com/GS79YlzSaT
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 2, 2021
Imke Van Gog finished 35th with a time of 19:21.28, while Madison Dockery finished 62nd with a time of 19:42.22. Katie Smock finished 83rd with a time of 19:56.80.
Lauren Tabor made her debut for the Eagles in Georgia, rounding out the scoring with a time of 21:26.63 and finishing 147th
Karli Yarid broke her personal best in the 5K for the third straight week, finishing with a time of 23:00.54, beating her old mark by almost six seconds.
"The girls raced well today," says Spooner. "I think we need to work on manuerving through traffic with large races. I want them to be more comfortable to these bigger races. Imke had a slow start hut finished strong. Lauren got a good starting point for her career and will improve. If the combo of her, Oliva and Karli can produce a high quality number five, the sky is the limit."
Sarah Copeland of Georgia Tech won the women's individual championship with a time of 17:38.14.
The men's team finished 14th in the 8K run with 443 points and a total time of 2:22:08.35. Augusta won the men's team championship with a score of 49 points and a total time of 2:09:07.44.
Raymond Brugmans leads the way for the men's team at the Asics Invitational @CN_Track pic.twitter.com/QLQlXBqHxR
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 2, 2021
Raymond Brugmans lead the men's team with an 80th place finish in the 8K race with a time of 27:19.03 and scoring 60 points. Will Kolb was the second finisher for the Eagles for the first time this season, placing 105th with a time of 27:51.41 and 77 points
Kirby Logan III placed 116th with a time of 27:59.79 and 83 points, while Hunter Miller finished 166th with a time of 29:23.00 and scoring 110 points. Trent Lovelace rounded out the scoring for the men's team with a time of 29:35.12, finishing 174th and scoring 113 points.
"We put some of the puzzle pieces together but not the full puzzle," says Spooner. "Our team looked more confident and controlled compared to last weekend. We've had guys step forward and the next step is getting everyone to complete the picture. We've moved forawrd quite a bit."
Zachary Cloud of Florida State won the individual title with a time of 25:09.23.
The Eagles will wrap up the regular season at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 8. The women's 5K will begin at 4:30 PM and the men's 8K will start at 5:20 PM
