Personal Bests Recorded at the Rainy Royals Challenge
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – (Men's Results | Women's Results) McApline Park in North Carolina welcomed runners from all over the region for the Royals Challenge on Friday evening, and the Eagles had strong showings on both sides as Reinhardt records fell.
The rain fell on each hometown squad, which created a sloppy track, but the Eagles were able to place fifth (of 25) in the men's 8K, while the Reinhardt women took home a seventh-place finish out of 24 qualifying groups in the 5K.
"Great day on the course for both of our groups," head coach Jordan Turner said. "All 16 athletes that raced today had season-bests and many had personal bests. The rainy and muddy conditions couldn't have been worse for fast times, but we were able to push past that and have the mentality that was needed to run fast today.
While I was pleased with the effort, we still need to be a little better late in the year to move past some conference schools that beat us today. The AAC is the best conference in the Southeast within the NAIA, and we have to learn where we can gain spots on the course and at the finish to beat these really quality teams."
Logan Ray was the top finisher for the men with a 27th overall placement (out of 188 student-athletes) with a time of 26:37, and just nine seconds behind him was Tom Vincent in 29th.
Braden Ray crossed the line in under 27 minutes as well (26:57) to earn 37th place. Rounding out the top five for the men was David Crow (27:18) and Taylor Kendrick (27:21) for 46th and 48th place, respectively.
On the women's side, Brooke Simon just missed the top 10 after completing her competition in 11th overall with a time of 19:22. Alexis Casey was next in line with a 25th-place finish (20:34) and Carly HARRISON was inside the top 50 (47th) with a 21:03.
Race Highlights
Logan Ray – Sixth-best freshman 8K time in program history
Tom Vincent – Ninth-best freshman 8K time in program history
Brooke Simon – 12th-best 5K time in program history
Another big race is on deck for Oct. 23 in South Carolina as both groups run in the NAIA Southern States Challenge.
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For more information on Reinhardt Men's Cross Country, please click here, and Reinhardt Women's Cross Country here.