BEREA, Ky. -- After a lengthy offseason, the Midway University women's cross country team opened their season on Friday, August 30, when they traveled to Berea, Ky. to compete in the Berea College/Centre College Cross Country Jamboree at the BC Alumni Fields.
It was a successful start to the season for Jay Walls' squad who was making his debut at the cross country head coach. The Eagles posted a fifth-place finish with 120 total points.
They finished 32 points ahead of River States Conference foe, Alice Lloyd (Ky.) who finished in sixth place. Georgetown (Ky.) finished one spot ahead of Midway in fourth place with 109 total points. Centre (Ky.) – who ranks 28th in the DII National Poll and second in the South/Southeast Region – won the event with 21 points.
"The ladies had a great showing against some tough competition; Their experience really showed as they ran a smart, more even paced race," said Walls. "But overall, it was a great opener for us, and I really feel like we turned a corner this week."
Walls added, "We had a great week of training while training throughout this meet. We're truly excited to see what we can accomplish together as a team this year."
Leading the way for the Eagles was Julia Sammet. The sophomore from Lexington, Ky. broke the school record for the two-mile race posting a time of 12:50. Her time earned her a 15th place finish out of 84 total runners.
The junior duo of Sadie Taylor (Frankfort, Ky.) and Philippa Asherwood (Chisamba, Zambia) was up next for the Eagles who each finished inside the top 30. Taylor posted a time of 13:19 in 24th place, while Asherwood wasn't far behind in 28th place at a time of 13:27.
Emily Chandler (Elizabethtown, Ky.) and Josette Isaacs (Rush, Ky.) were up next as they collected finishing times of 14:05 and 14:25, respectively.
Madeline Segars (White House, Tenn.) had a time of 15:40 and Rachelle Felski (Windber, Pa.) had a time of 16:41, while Yajeidy Gonzalez (Lexington, Ky.) and Cassie Fryman (Brooksville, Ky.) ran times of 17:05 and 21:54 respectively.
Midway will look to continue their strong start to the season on September 14 when they return to Berea, Ky. to compete in the Berea College Invitational.
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