MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The NC Wesleyan College cross country teams completed their seasons on Saturday at the NCAA Regionals at Berry College in Rome Georgia.
"Our runners went out and performed admirably and competed throughout the cold and windy race," said head coach Marshall Leonard.
The men were led by sophomore Christian Tippette who ran 10 seconds off his season's best time in 28:38, while battling sickness to place 116th overall out of 240 runners in the 8K. He was followed closely by freshmen Thomas Guadelupe-Johnson in 28:52 and Connor Hayes in 28:57, who both ran over a minute faster than they did at the conference championships. Guadelupe placed 134th with Hayes placing 139th.
They were followed by freshman Terenthen Parker in 29:29 (168th) and freshman Jeshon Smith in 31:35 (213th). Parker ran 30 seconds faster than his last race while Jeshon ran a personal best time. The team was wrapped up with freshman Keyonte Williams (32:55) and Tyler Bird. Bird finished his final race of the season with a personal best time of 33:48.
The men's team finished in 28th place out of 33 teams finishing ahead of USA South foes, Maryville and LaGrange. "I am very pleased and proud of our men's team, as they have really worked hard to finish their season on a high note," said Leonard. "There is a lot of potential with this group of student-athletes, and I look forward to guiding them to success in the future."
The women were led by senior Sarah Grossman, who competed in her final race, and in her 1st appearance at the NCAA Regionals. She raced hard and finished the last 100 meters while holding off other opponents that were making a charge for her. Grossman led the Bishops with a time of 31:17.
Leonard commented that, "I have been a lucky coach to have been able to coach her for her last 2 years at NC Wesleyan."
She was followed closely by freshman Alyssa Donaldson who raced hard and finished her season on a high note finishing in a time of 32:47 in the 6K.
Senior Hannah Ivester then completed her final race of her career with a smile as she raced towards the finish line in a time of 37:10. "It was a proud moment to see her compete at this level coming in as a softball player," said Leonard. "She has been a very important part of our program and she will be missed when she moves on."
The women's team wraps up their season, and Leonard has been very proud of what they have accomplished. "I will miss our seniors, but I look forward to guiding our freshmen to a bright and exciting future."
Leonard was very excited about this past season as the teams competed at Disney and on ESPN, both genders won their 1st team competitions in school history, and Wesleyan had their 1st All Conference Runner since 1982. "I believe we had great seasons and am very proud of every runner."