Cross Country Earns Trip To NAIA Nationals
The Brenau University Cross Country team won their first SSAC Championship in a complete team effort on Saturday.
Brenau slipped past newcomer Blue Mountain College by one point as the Golden Tigers showed outstanding depth and consistency. The top seven runners finished in 4th, 6th, 9th, 11th, 28th 33rd and 34th places.
The top four runners automatically qualify for nationals based on finish, however, by winning the conference meet as a team, the top seven runners will travel to the NAIA National meet.
Junior Brittany Aikens (Braselton, Ga.) led the Golden Tigers, finishing 4th overall with a time of 19:21. Sophomore Utami Ketchem (Flowery Branch, Ga.) finished close behind in 6th place with a time of 19:26. The Golden Tiger claimed two other top 12 finishes as freshman Natalie Williams (Dalton, Ga.) and sophomore Deshanie' Honeycutt (Stone Mountain, Ga.) finished in 9th and 11th places respectively.
Tori Mullinax (Gainesville, Ga.), who has battled through injuries, finished in 28th place with a time of 20:22. Coach Susan McIntyre praised the freshman for her resiliency and dedication, saying: "This meet is the first time Tori has run hard in weeks. She wasn't totally healed by any means, but she wanted to contribute to her team and she did in a big way. Because of her finish, our top seven advance to Nationals."
Jasmine Ray (Appling, Ga.) and Tyana Luna (Lawrenceville, Ga.) finished 33rd and 34th respectively to round out the top seven.
"My motto has always been 'Champions are Made When No one is Watching' and our win yesterday is because my team also believes in this," said McIntyre. "I have never been prouder to wear the name Brenau University XC team on my shirt, as I was yesterday!"
McIntyre also credited her assistant coach for his dedication to the team concept: "This team would not have earned this win without the help of assistant coach Sean Robison. It was a great team effort all season not just at practice, but as a team!"
The Golden Tigers will advance together to the NAIA Nationals which will be held in Rim Rock, KS on November 23rd.
