Oct. 17, 2015

LOUISVILLE, KY. – Carolina’s cross country team sent 18 runners to Louisville Saturday morning for the annual Pre-Nationals meet, hosted this year by the Cardinals. The team ran in two separate races, coming 22nd of 35 in the “Black” race and sixth of eight in the open 6K.

Mary Reiser again led the team, crossing 23rd in a field of 237 runners for the Black race. Her time of 21:25.6 was just off her personal best that was set two weeks ago at Paul Short, but it is still owns the two fastest 6K times of the season for the Gamecocks. Behind her, Monica York and Martha McCoy finished as a duo, coming in 127th and 129th, respectively. York would set a new personal best with a 22:37.8.

“Mary had another solid effort as our number one, and Martha McCoy stepped up and had an excellent effort as our number two. We faced some pretty high-level talent in this national competition and we were respectable but not everything we were hoping for,” said Coach Andrew Allden. “I think there’s more for us to still achieve.”

Ten women would compete for the Garnet and Black in the open 6K, with freshman Alexis Malmberg crossing as the team’s top finisher. Her time of 22:53.7 was good for 55th in a field of 126. The team would see four new personal bests in the open group, coming from freshmen Samantha Farmer (23:03.7) and Allie Mueller (24:05.6) and sophomores Sarah Taylor (23:32.8) and Anna McElrath (24:43.4). This is Taylor’s second PR in as many races.

“The freshmen ran very well for us today, with Alexis and Samantha leading us in the open race,” Allden said. “They both had solid efforts in what was just their second 6K ever, so our depth looks real good.”

UP NEXT
This brings an end to the regular season for Carolina. The team will now train for the SEC Championships, coming in two weeks. The 6K course will be held in College Station, Texas with Texas A&M hosting this year.

“This race today was definitely good preparation for us as we head into the SEC meet, it’s good for us to run in large races and get used to running in bigger groups,” Allden said. “We needed experience in that and you hope by exposing yourself to that you get more comfortable with it.”