The Lady Roadrunners Cross Country team ran against 41 other schools on Saturday in the Sand Shark Invitational in Hardeeville, South Carolina. Running with four Roadrunners on the sidelines, the ladies were still fast enough to finish 17th. It was a warm, humid morning when they toed the crowded starting line with 290 runners in the field.
When the sand had settled, freshman Rachel Ward come across the line in her personal best time of 20:15 to become the first Roadrunner finisher for the second time this year.
Sophomore Kay Vradenburgh was close behind finishing in 20:30, which was also a personal best for her.
Solid junior Hayley Hight was the third Roadrunner to post a personal best time on the day when she finished in 21:26. Improving her season best time by more than a minute and finishing in her highest place on the team this year, freshman Alex Gass finished fourth in 21:57. Rounding out the scoring for the ladies was freshman Sabrina Young coming in at 22:36. Sophomore Morgan "Moe" King improved her season best time and finished in 23:17.
Coach Dean Thompson said, "We had a good race at the end of a three-week tough training block. Five of our six finishers today ran their best times of the year. We are set up well to have our best race of the year when it counts; at the Conference Championships. We should have Reagan back by then and everyone else will improve. We're a young team with a bright future. This group of ladies will continue to work hard. They will continue to improve, and that will help to eventually get us back to where we want to be, at the top of the conference. We have five freshmen, and some will take longer than just cross country season for their bodies to catch up with the demands of collegiate running, but they will catch up. When they do, it will be fun to watch. Most importantly, this group of ladies have one thing that they don't need to improve: Their character. This is one fantastic, delightful group of young ladies. It is a privilege to work with them.
The Lady Roadrunners will have a two week break before they compete in the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship on November 3 at Oakville Indian Mounds in Oakville, Al.