Former Lady Eagle Sarah Welch Has Best Bryan Women's Finish
October 7, 2019
OXFORD, Ala. – The Bryan College Cross Country Team traveled to the home of Jacksonville State University Saturday for the 14th annual Foothills Invitational at Choccolocco Park. With more than 500 participants between the men's and women's meets, it was a well-attended event.
The men's team showed progress, especially considering the Lions defeated several opponents they have come up short to in the past several seasons. Their combined team time of 2:29:56 was good enough for Bryan's men's team to place 14th amongst the 25 squads that posted a team score. A major part of that success is due to the growth demonstrated by the runners in the program. Bryan Head Coach Josh Bradley explained, "The guys really seem to be starting to take hold as a team, envisioning our goals, and working hard to attain them." Jackson Hughes (SO/Crossville, Tenn.) had a solid performance finishing 70th out of 211 with a time of 28:26.50, knocking off nearly 20 seconds from his PR last year. Freshman Nathen Vander Wilt (FR) experienced a breakout race following his first competition of the season that saw a time around the 30-minute mark. At Choccolocco Park, Vander Wilt trimmed nearly 50 seconds off and crossed the finish line in a time of 29:20.20. Bryan potentially could have increased their point total by 20-30 points with another notable time, which was likely with Jon David Nelson (SO/Mentone, Ala.) running, but the sophomore capable of faster times was battling sickness and recorded a time of 32:16.10 for 138th.
Coach Bradley is very pleased with the progression of the team and is focused on the Lions all producing sub-29 times. Coach Bradley added, "From 2 weeks ago, we've already made a big jump. Four out of the five guys had better times than just two weeks ago. We're displaying definite progression, and if we can continue that four weeks from now, we'll be in a good spot."
The Lions women's team did exceptionally well this event with the top-2 finishers running their fastest times of the year. Sarah Welch (SO/Dayton, Tenn.) was Bryan's top finisher, coming in 30th out of 179 with a time of 20:08.90. That time already matched her PR from last year, which was recorded at conference a month later into the season, so she is ahead of schedule and looking to easily set a new best. Isabella Dawson ran her fastest cross country time, finishing 34th with a time of 20:13.20. Another notable performance was Abbie Sims (FR). Even though it wasn't the fastest performance of the weekend, it was definitely the most improved. Her time of 24:50.20 for 118th demolished her previous best. "Over a two-week span, Abbie has made an incredible jump," said Coach Bradley. "She was a track athlete before Bryan, so it's remarkable what she's done in such a short time as a cross country competitor."
Bryan Cross Country will compete again in two weeks at the Berry College Invitational. Coach Bradley noted, "That'll be the halfway mark, and we are looking to see where we are truly at. It'll be our big test heading into the last half of the season. The course at Berry is hilly and tougher than this past weekend, so essentially we'd like to see times close to what we produced this past weekend or even better."
For the full results from the Foothills XC Invite:
Women's times – click here.
Men's times – click here.
Follow the Lions on Instagram @bryanxctf.