Cross Country teams fare well at Southeast Classic

The Centre Men's and Women's Cross Country teams competed in their first meet in three weeks today at the Southeast Classic in Mount Berry, Ga. In a meet that should serve as a good tune-up for upcoming postseason meets, the Colonels posted strong finishes against some of the top NAIA schools in the country, with the men finishing fifth out of 34 teams and the women finishing second out of 35 teams.

The Centre men finished fifth with a combined team score of 173 points. NAIA13th ranked Bryan College of Tennessee won the event with 65 points, followed by 25th ranked Savannah College of the Arts with 129 points. Cumberland (139 points) and Milligan (171) rounded out the top five.

Individually, sophomore John Kieffer (Dublin, Ohio) was Centre's top scoring runner, finishing 24th with a time of 26:19:02 on the 8k course. Seniors Willie Polio (Owensboro, Ky.) and Jack Santos (Topsfield, Mass.) finished 30th and 31st with respective times of 26:29:08 and 26:30:31.

Freshmen Josh Rieskamp (Cincinnati, Ohio, 26:41:05) and Albert Anastasio (Champaign, Ill., 26:54:66) rounded out the rest of the Colonels' top five.

On the women's side, Centre finished in second place with 116 points, just nine points behind Indiana Wesleyan, ranked 18th in the current NAIA poll. The Colonels finished 18 points ahead of Embry-Riddle, ranked 15th in the country. #25 Milligan finished fourth with 138 points and Cumberland finished fifth with a score of 188 points.

Individually, freshman Ashley El Rady (Louisville, Ky.) led the way for Centre on the 5k course. Her time of 18:47:15 was good for eighth place out of 310 individual runners. Freshman Hannah Ellis (Crestwood, Ky.) and Bekah Rehkamp (Florence, Ky.) also posted times in the top 20 among eligible scorers. Ellis finished 18th with a time of 19:03:01 and Rehkamp finished 20th with a time of 19:05:55.

Freshmen Emily Akin (Cincinnati, Ohio, 19:34:79) and Sydney Settle (Owensboro, Ky., 19:36:70) rounded out the rest of the Centre top five. Both times placed in the top 40 among eligible scorers.

The next meet for the Centre Cross Country teams will take place on October 29. The Colonels will compete in the SCAC Championships at Sewanee. The Colonels will be familiar with the terrain, having already competed at the Sewanee course this season, with the men finishing third and the women fourth in the Sewanee invitational.