Eagles Take the Course Saturday to Kick Off 2023 Season
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman cross-country teams kick off their 2023 season on Saturday at the SAC Preview in Newton, North Carolina.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman cross-country teams kick off their 2023 season on Saturday at the SAC Preview in Newton, North Carolina.
"The main thing I am looking forward to is getting into competition," interim head coach Whit Lee said. "We've been training nearly a full month getting ready for this weekend."
Both the men and women return several runners from last season, such as Imke Van Gog and Katie Smock for the women and Brent Borden and Raymond Brugmans for the men, while many newcomers join the fold.
"We are relying on leadership from our returners who have learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable," Lee said. "We've got several freshmen who will experience a college race for the first time."
The newcomers will participate in distances that differ from those of high school races.
"The distances are longer," Lee said. "The women run the 6k, and the men run the 8k compared to the 5k in high school."
While the longer distances will challenge the freshmen, Lee believes in his experienced leaders to help them along.
"I'm really encouraged by the leadership of our returning crew and what they've done to guide these new teammates along," Lee said. "This is only the beginning of our journey, and we know we're going to learn some things about ourselves this weekend."
The Eagles will compete against the South Atlantic Conference's best this weekend, and Lee is excited for C-N to show what they've worked on leading up to Saturday's race.
"I'm excited to see all the training pay off," Lee said. "It's time to bring forth the fruits of our labor."
The Eagles will take the course at Southside Park in Newton, North Carolina, at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.
