“By having the number two ranked team in the nation [Milligan College] in your own region, it can’t help but raise the level of competition throughout the conference,” added Larios. The Lady Cavs ran to some personal-best marks in route to their 3rd place finish. Senior Megan Riser saved her best race for last as she broke the 21 minute mark for the first time, completing the championship course in 20:22.6. Also setting their season best times were Kirsten Gnagy and Elyse Gildernew, finishing side by side in an impressive 21:19.0 and 21:19.5. The Lady Cavs received a great boast from the lady soccer team as Heather Hable produced an electrifying race in 21:10. Brittnye Scott and Julie Hetu also had fine races in 23:09.8 and 23:32.1.
On the men’s side, Montreat was not able to produce a team score; however, Ben Hall and Justin Edwards had tremendous races for the Cavaliers. Hall completed the 8000 meter course (4.9 miles) in his season’s best time, 27:30.4. Edwards also hit a personal best by running 29:01.5, just missing his goal of a sub- 29 minute race! Also running his final cross country race as a Cavalier, Josh Woodward ran his best time in 31:55.3, taking over one minute off his previous best. And taking some time away from the pitcher’s mound was Garrett Jones; Jones is one of the Cavalier baseball team’s aces; however, he demonstrated his fitness by racing to a 34:38.8.
The regular cross country season is now over and most runners will take a few days off prior to gearing up for their indoor and outdoor track seasons. Talisa Bishop will continue her training for a couple of more weeks as she prepares to travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin. This will be Bishop’s third time she has qualified for the NAIA National Cross Country Championship. The 52nd Annual Men's & 28th Annual Women's Cross Country National Championships will be held on Saturday, November 17 at the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course; race times are scheduled for men’s race/10:30am (CST) and the women’s race/11:45am (CST).