Carson-Newman Women’s Place First and Men’s Earn Third at Cherokee Farms Invitational
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Cross Country competed in the Cherokee Farms Invitational this Saturday where the women’s team took home first place overall and the men earned third.
VIDEO: Jenna Pittman Interview
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Cross Country competed in the Cherokee Farms Invitational this Saturday where the women's team took home first place overall and the men earned third.
"It was a really good effort by all of our runners," Borden said. "We had a lot of standout performances today and big PR's."
Coming off of a challenging course in the season opener, the Eagles looked forward to running a course that is familiar.
"This course is quick but still challenging," said Borden. "I feel like our runners executed very well and were strategic in their approach and finished strong."
This is the first time the Eagles have taken on the course at Cherokee Farms, which was a flatter course than what the team saw in the season opener. With UVA Wise being the other SAC school in attendance, the Eagles prepared for high levels of competition.
The Carson-Newman women's team grabbed a first place finish in the 5K race led by third place finish Jenna Pittman and fourth place Maggie Hope.
"I'm excited and I think it is a step in the right direction," Pittman said. "In practice, we focused on resting on our mileage and making sure that we felt rested for this race."
Pittman finished third overall with a time 18:59 in the 5K with an average mile time of 5:51.
Maggie Hope set a new personal best in the 5K race running a time of 19:16 with an average mile time of 6:10.
"I did not want to let my teammates down," said Hope. "When you know that your team is counting on you to perform, it helps you to keep fighting for it."
The men's team finished third overall in the 8K race with first place finish Colten Lee and seventh place Henry Hunter.
"I felt really good and confident with the training that Brent had for us this week," Lee said. "I feel like I executed very well and had a good race."
Coming off a first place finish in the season opener, Lee finished at the Cherokee Farms Invitational race first overall with a time of 25:41 and an average mile of 5:04.
In his first collegiate 8K race, Hunter wanted to cement himself as a top runner.
"I started out strong and stayed strong and got a consistent pace," said Hunter. "We need to celebrate this win but get back to the grind, rest up and focus on the next race."
Carson-Newman Cross Country gets back into action at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m.
To keep up with everything Eagles Cross Country, visit cneagles.com.
