Cross Country Opens Season With Strong Showing
In the first meet of the 2014 season, the Brenau cross country team had a strong sixth place finish at the Eye Opener Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C.
Running against 17 other schools- including several NCAA Division I opponents- Brenau edged out NCAA Division II Limestone (S.C.) University for sixth place with 211 points.
The top finisher for the Golden Tigers was sophomore Utami Ketchem who finished in 13th overall place with a time of 19:35.37. Senior Brittany Aikens finished in 18th place with a time of 20:02.44, while junior Deishane Honeycutt finished 55th overall in 21:51.00.
Junior Jasmine Ray finished close behind Honeycutt in 21:55.37, which placed her 56th overall, while freshman Kaitlyn Gearing rounded out the scorers in 69th place with a time 22:44.30. Sarah Saenz finished in 72nd with a time of 22:48, while Tyana Luna finished in 81st place in 23:27.
The Golden Tigers finished with an average time of 21:13.69 and as the third-best NAIA program.
"This is one of our best opening races since I've been at Brenau," said head coach Susan McIntyre. "It was extremely humid and close to 90 degrees during the race, and we usually struggle in early season races due to the heat, but we did extremely well in the tough conditions.
NCAA Division I Davidson College finished in first place, while NAIA SCAD-Savannah finished in second place. The University of North Georgia, King (Tenn.) College and host USC-Upstate wrapped up the top five.
Brenau next hits the trail when they compete on Saturday September 13th at the Saucony Invitational in Helen, Georgia.