JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman will trek to Hunstville, Al., to compete in a race with 49 other division two schools.
"I expect it to be a national-level meet," head coach Mike Spooner said. "It's a great opportunity to race in a large-scale meet. Historically I have always tried to focus on large-scale meets with at least 10 schools."
Carson-Newman is coming off a strong performance at the Asics Invitational, where many Eagles set new career bests. Freshmen such as Grace Lathrop, Ashley Tuell, and Colten Lee all finished within the top 30 in a race, with 130 racers on the men's side and 106 for the women.
The Eagles will look for big performances from their young stars at this next meet which could be the biggest race these freshmen have encountered.
"There's going to be no less than 375 and maxes out at 500," Spooner said. "This is going to be the largest race that many of these kids have been in based on just pure size. A big thing that we have been emphasizing is that if you are not passing people, you're probably not doing it right."
The Eagles passed many people at the Asics Invitational, where they had seven runners finish within the top 30 of their respective races. The Eagles The men were led by graduate Brent Borden, who finished 18th in the race, but just one ahead of freshman Colten Lee. The women were led by Junior Katie Smock, who finished 14th in the race.
Carson-Newman had not traveled to the cotton state since 2016, when the Eagles competed in the Southeast Regional Championship. In that race, the men finished 19th, and the women finished 17th.
The men will get an early start in Huntsville when their 8K race begins at 8:00 A.M. central time. The women's 6K will begin 50 minutes later.
To stay updated on Carson-Newman's cross country team, visit CNEagles.com or follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter.
