AAC Teams Start Year With Battle at Flint Farm

WALESKA, Ga. – (Results) Teams from around the Appalachian Athletic Conference came together on Friday evening to open the 2021 season with men's and women's cross country competitions at Flint Farm not far from Reinhardt.

The men's group came in second place with 30 points and a combined time of 1:22:47 in the three-mile run, while the women tied for second after two miles with 52 tallies (1:11:53).

"A great opportunity to race so close to home on the beautiful Flint Farm," head coach Jordan Turner said. "While we've hosted home meets on campus before, this one truly felt like a home meet as Dr. Flint and his wife Bea have become like family to our team. They have taken these kids in and given them a wonderful place to run and support them in their educational and athletic journeys at Reinhardt. Fred Weir also has played a tremendous part in building these kids up through his generosity in time and talents. The wonderful experience of getting to host a meet at the farm will be a lasting memory for our group and me."

Great races were run from both groups today with numerous personal records, which is a great sign for the first meet of the year. Non-traditional race distances were set for both squads today, but the Eagles saw both school records fall with the performances of Brooke Simon and Logan Ray.

"Brooke ran exceptional to take the win in her first collegiate race," Turner said "She led from the gun and never looked back. Proud of her and her hard work each and every day to get better. Logan had a stellar debut for the guys as well, coming in as first collegiate runner – first place was unattached – and moved up very nicely over the last two miles. While we didn't take the team wins today, I'm very hopeful that this group sees how good they can be as a team and individually in two months' time. 

TWU ran exceptional, and Coach Mike and Austin will have very tough squads at conference; our goal now should be to turn the tables at conference on them."

Simon finished in 12:47.2, while Ray crossed the line in 15:49.1.

Both groups will now prepare for a couple weeks for the North Alabama Showcase at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 17. 

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For more information on Reinhardt Men's Cross Country, please click here, and Reinhardt Women's Cross Country here.