Strayer and McCambridge both take top-20 finishes at SAC Championship
The Carson-Newman cross country team finished 7th on the women’s side and 8th on the men’s at the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Championship.
WINGATE, N.C.- The Carson-Newman cross country team finished 7th on the women's side and 8th on the men's at the 2019 South Atlantic Conference Championship.
Sophomore Rachel Strayer (Murfreesboro, TN) was the top finisher for either side, crossing the finish line fifth overall out of 86 racers with a time of 22:50.0 in the 6k.
"Strayer ran a gutsy race," Carson-Newman coach Luke Greer said. "She put herself up there with the best girls in the conference and came out with lots of positives."
Strayer was also named to the SAC women's all-conference first team following her strong finish at the event.
Graduate student Conal McCambridge (United Kingdom) was the front man for the men, finishing 16th out of 99 racers at a time of 26:46.5 in the 8k.
"Conal ran well, just found he got too comfortable at a pace and couldn't pick it up," Greer said. "He's a little disappointed with the result but hopefully he can use that as motivation for regionals."
Underclassmen Klara Naude (South Africa) and Angela Dela Cruz (Morristown, TN) both placed in the top-60.
"Extremely proud of how they competed in their first conference race," Greer said. "Hopefully they can use this experience for the coming seasons."
Freshman Jasper Wilson (Chickamauga, GA) was the second-highest men's finisher for the Eagles at 40th overall in 28:02.3
Kirby Logan (Andersonville, TN), Hunter Miller (Brooklyn, MI) and Channler Boothe (Lebanon, VA) all took spots in the top-60 as well
"Men's team ran well as a pack," Greer said. "A lot of the teams in the conference had good days which put us at a little disadvantage but they performed to the pre-season ranking. That was a good experience for them and now they know what these races are all about."
Queens, Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne were the top-three finishers on the women's side while Queens Anderson and Wingate finished in those same spots on the men's end of things.
It was a 75-degree day with no precipitation which Greer thinks actually may have been less than ideal.
"I was hoping for some rain to create a muddy course but that did not happen," Greer said. "Hopefully for regionals we'll get some rain which I think will benefit the team."
The Eagles will be able to bring a max of seven runners from each side to their next event, the NCAA Southeast Regional which will also be run in Wingate, North Carolina on Nov. 9th, 2019 at 9 a.m.
Be sure to keep up with the C-N cross country team across Carson-Newman's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
