BLUFFTON, S.C. -- Maryville College Cross Country delivered strong performances at the Sand Shark Invitational, overcoming muddy course conditions on their way to earning multiple personal and season records.
The men's team placed 5th out of 15 represented programs while scoring 124 points.
James LeNeve led the way for the Scots, finishing in 22nd place with a 8k time of 29:22.
Tyler Tangel followed one second behind, earning 24th place with a time of 29:23. Scoring was rounded out by
Erick Trejo (28th, 29:56),
Dylan Hall (31st, 30:00), and
Paul Kanios (32nd, 30:03). Hall and Kanios earned new personal records with their recorded times.
Following his 8k performance, Hall stated, "The team's goal was to compete despite the weather and focus on passing people when things got tough. While it was tough to find my stride because of the weather, I found a way to embrace the rain and mud and push myself throughout the race. My favorite part of the day was cheering on the girls team while diving in the water."
Despite tough course conditions, the women's program had an impressive performance as they tied for 3rd place, scoring 103 points, and recording the second best team average time in school history at 21:46. The team also witness four Scots reach new personal records, including
Megan Shinn,
Charlotte Wilson,
Ivy Blanton, and
Emma Lathinghouse. Shinn came in first for the Scots, finishing in seventh place with a time of 20:14.
Maddie Adair finished second on the team with a time of 21:49, earning 21st palce at the competition. Wilson (24th, 22:05), Blanton (28th, 22:22), and Lathinghouse (30th, 22:24) helped add on to the team points.Â
Wilson was happy with how the team responded to the difficult course conditions. "Overall I would say that the team's goal was to work together and pack run. Although the weather was unfortunate and the course was muddy with surprise sinkholes, we still were able to finish close together and with some PRs (personal records). I would say the race went well for me. I was a little bit off of my goal, but considering the circumstances, I'll take any PR. My favorite part of the day was meeting Dylan's puppy before we ran our cool down."
"We had an adventurous weekend traveling to a fast course," said Head Coach
Kaitlyn Carringer-Adams. "Even though the course was drowned in water and mud, which prevented the course from realistically being fast, we were thankful to get to compete. The team did not make excuses, but instead, shifted goals focused on team growth:Â which really was the outcome of this entire trip. Even with the muddy terrain, we had runners beat personal records and season bests and wecontinued to work on pack running, which resulted in the women's team earning the second best team time average in school history (21:46), and the men's team being a few seconds off the fifth best team time average. On top of this, we were the only Division III program there and tied for third for the women and placed fifth for the men out of 15 total represented programs. I'm happy with how this team is coming together and excited to see them continue to grow these next few races."
The Scots will return to action back in Knoxville this upcoming Friday, October 16th with the Fighting Scots XC Invitational in Sequoyah Hills Park
