Golden Tigers At Royal Cross Country Challenge
October 14, 2012
The Brenau Cross Country team traveled to Charlotte, N.C. on Friday,
October 12th to participate in the Royal Cross Country Challenge.The course was held at McAlpine Creek Park and has been the longtime home of the Footlocker High School Southeast Championships. At 3:30 p.m., 217 runners from all over the Southeast took to the starting line with hopes of crossing the finish line in record time.
The Tigers had a tough week of training and were ready to put their hearts and shoes on the starting line. Brittany Aikens (Braselton, Ga.) set her personal record time last week of 18:46 on a slightly short course. The question for Aikens, was whether she could perform under 19 minutes again. Not only did she do it again, but she broke her time by three seconds on a course that was slightly over 3.1 miles (3.12). Aikens led the SSAC with her performance in the Royal Cross Country Challenge with her new personal record of 18:43. Coach McIntyre said, "Brittany definitely shifted her running to the next level after earning two races in the 18's two weeks in a row."
Brenau also had another great finish by freshman Alyssa Sale (Cumming, Ga.), who finished with a time of 20:01. Coach McIntyre recognizes that Sale is on the edge of breaking through to the 19 minute mark. Sale was both discouraged and inspired by her finishing time because although she set a personal best, she was only seconds from breaking the 20 minute barrier. Sale will likely break 20 minutes in her freshman year, and this race will likely help her achieve that goal.
Ashley Tolland (Cumming, Ga.), a graduate student majoring in Occupational Therapy, and sophomore, Sarah Saenz (Lawrenceville, Ga.) both finished with the same time of 20:50, staying together and pushing each other from the two mile marker.
Sophomore, Anahi Ruiz (Gainesville, Ga.), stepped up her performance for Brenau and dropped her time by a large margin with a 5th place finish for the team in a time of 21:33.
Freshman, Jasmine Ray (Appling, Ga.), set a new personal record of 21:55 and finished 6th on the team.
The Tigers had a tough week of training and were ready to put their hearts and shoes on the starting line. Brittany Aikens (Braselton, Ga.) set her personal record time last week of 18:46 on a slightly short course. The question for Aikens, was whether she could perform under 19 minutes again. Not only did she do it again, but she broke her time by three seconds on a course that was slightly over 3.1 miles (3.12). Aikens led the SSAC with her performance in the Royal Cross Country Challenge with her new personal record of 18:43. Coach McIntyre said, "Brittany definitely shifted her running to the next level after earning two races in the 18's two weeks in a row."
Brenau also had another great finish by freshman Alyssa Sale (Cumming, Ga.), who finished with a time of 20:01. Coach McIntyre recognizes that Sale is on the edge of breaking through to the 19 minute mark. Sale was both discouraged and inspired by her finishing time because although she set a personal best, she was only seconds from breaking the 20 minute barrier. Sale will likely break 20 minutes in her freshman year, and this race will likely help her achieve that goal.
Ashley Tolland (Cumming, Ga.), a graduate student majoring in Occupational Therapy, and sophomore, Sarah Saenz (Lawrenceville, Ga.) both finished with the same time of 20:50, staying together and pushing each other from the two mile marker.
Sophomore, Anahi Ruiz (Gainesville, Ga.), stepped up her performance for Brenau and dropped her time by a large margin with a 5th place finish for the team in a time of 21:33.Freshman, Jasmine Ray (Appling, Ga.), set a new personal record of 21:55 and finished 6th on the team.
Junior, Ana Lopera (Flowery Branch, Ga.) came in 7th for Brenau with the time of 22:17.
Freshman, Tyana Luna (Lawrenceville, Ga.) had an outstanding race and finished with a personal record of 22:22.
These runners rounded out the top seven runners for the Tigers. With their hard work, they pulled out with a team average of 20:23 and 15th place overall, just seconds behind SSAC rival Lee University with an overall team time of 19:56.
The team is showing commendable effort, and is expected to perform at their peak in time for the SSAC Championships to be held in a few weeks in Clinton, Mississippi.
Freshman, Tyana Luna (Lawrenceville, Ga.) had an outstanding race and finished with a personal record of 22:22.
These runners rounded out the top seven runners for the Tigers. With their hard work, they pulled out with a team average of 20:23 and 15th place overall, just seconds behind SSAC rival Lee University with an overall team time of 19:56.
The team is showing commendable effort, and is expected to perform at their peak in time for the SSAC Championships to be held in a few weeks in Clinton, Mississippi.