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by Gary Stepp

Allison 2

Holbrook and Graham

The Alice Lloyd College Cross Country squad traveled to Midway, Kentucky on November 9th to participate in the KIAC Conference Championship. The weather was cold early, but the sun came out to provide a surprisingly nice environment.

In the women’s 5K race, 77 women toed the starting line. Sophomore Allison Holbrook gave her all, as she broke the tape in 23:24. Her time placed her in the top half of all females, as she finished in 36th place.

Following Holbrook were the freshman duo of Jennifer Graham and Kassie Rouse who finished with times of 26:16 and 26:55, respectively. This placed them in 58th and 64th place. Also competing for the Eagles were junior Katelin Hylton and sophomore Brianna Osborne. Hilton finished in 67th position with a personal best time of 27:59, while Osborne’s time of 29:36 earned her 70th place.

For the event, out of the ten teams that competed in the women’s field, ALC finished in ninth place.

On the men’s side of things, 71 runners challenged the 8K course. For the Eagles, sophomore Clay Montgomery battled hard as he demonstrated a gritty determination. He finished the race with an impressive kick, and crossed the line in 33:19. This was good enough for 55th place.

L-R: Kassie Rouse, Clay Montgomery, Katelin Hilton, and Briana Osborne.

L-R: Kassie Rouse, Clay Montgomery, Katelin Hylton, and Brianna Osborne.

After the meet, Eagles’ coach Gary D. Stepp commented, “I am really pleased with the progress my young team made. All of them grew over the course of the season, and each made tremendous strides. The best part is that each of these fine student-athletes will return next year. Unfortunately, we had several men who were either hurt or had to redshirt this season. The good news is that next year we should have a full complement of runners ready to go.”

The coach added, “We will still field a young group, but they now know more of what to expect on this level and of what they need to do to achieve their best. I feel that they are each hungry to improve, and I expect much greater things from them next season.”