The men and women of Cross Country will travel to the Southern Showcase this weekend in Huntsville, Alabama. Both teams are expected to perform well within their respective divisions.
The teams had impressive accomplishments last weekend at Florence’s own Mcfarland Park. Sophomore transfer Sandra Maiyo earned an individual win for her time of 17:35.01, which was 40 seconds ahead of the second finisher.
Both Camille Etheridge and Savannah Williams also placed in the top 25.
Sophomore Brian Bett also earned an individual win, for the second year in a row, with his time of 24:31.33. This is the fifteenth fastest time for the men’s 8k in school history.
Both Vincent Chepkwony and Aidan Shannon also finished among the top 10.
The men took first place in the season opening race for the first time since 1985, and the women finished fifth with a 29 point gap between them and Wallace State.
The Atlantic Sun Conference’s weekly awards were given to four UNA runners as a result of the race last weekend. Bett and Maiyo were named ASUN Runners of the Week. Freshmen runners Jack Gruber and Audrey Becker were given ASUN Freshman of the Week honors.
ASUN only gave four awards, and UNA earned every single one.
“Starting off the season with four awards is a huge honor,” said Callahan. “This group put in great work over the summer and to get recognition after the first race is great to see. Now, we must continue to work hard and prepare for the weeks ahead. Brian is no stranger to these awards, but it’s encouraging to see three newcomers join him.”
Coach Callahan expects a lot of competition this upcoming weekend. He mentioned this showcase is “bigger” than the last and will allow him to better evaluate the teams. There will be more than 150 teams and 5,000 total runners.
Runners are expecting to see more hills at this showcase, with Callahan referring to these as “challenges.” Regardless, he doesn’t expect them to be “too much of a worry.”
The men finished 13th at this particular showcase last year, and the women finished 24th. Callahan hopes to see improvement in both races.
“The goal every week is to get better… I think we have a stronger team, we told the team we have a stronger team, and they believe we are a stronger team,” said Callahan.
The men will kick off the 8k at 7:30 a.m., and the women begin their 5k at 8:30 a.m.
