Gamecocks Finish Second at FSU Invite, Set New PRs
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s cross country opened up the 2020 season with an impressive showing at the FSU Invite in Tallahassee, Fla. The Gamecocks finished second as a team in the Women’s 5000m Open with senior captains Heather Stone and Brooke Wilson each finishing in the top 10 with fourth and sixth place finishes, respectively.
The Gamecocks finished just behind LSU and finished in front of South Alabama, UAB and Southern Miss. This is the second straight year Carolina finished second in its first meet of the cross country season.
“As a group we ran a solid race today, and for it being our first competition of the season I am pleased but not satisfied with second,” Cross Country coach Andrew Allden said. “I was glad to see Heather [Stone] push for the top spot during the race and she was able to take the lead at the 2-mile mark. She made a push for the win but came up just short today.”
Two of the top five Gamecocks were able to crush their previous personal bests with Wilson’s sixth place time of 18:03.9 improving her best time by nine seconds and giving her the 27th fastest 5K time in program history. Senior Rachel Hensler, who finished in 16th, cruised to a new personal best time of 18:27.9, besting her previous personal record by 43 seconds that she set back in 2017.
“I thought Brooke [Wilson] ran a great, and most importantly a smart race,” Allden added. “The course was really wide and Brooke was able to take advantage of turn over one of the hills and made up some ground in that instance. She really did run the smartest race out of anyone today.”
“For Rachel [Hensler] it was a fantastic day for her not only because of her performance on the course but it was also her birthday today,” Allden said. “It was probably her best collegiate race so far. For her to do that to start her senior year is just great.”
Freshman Hope Dominique was Carolina’s top freshman finisher. In her debut she was able to finish in 18th with a time of 18:35.4. Hannah Twine also returned to the cross country course on Friday. The Gamecock captain finished in 26th in a time of 18:56.2.
“Hope [Dominique] had a great debut for us. She came within seven seconds of her high school personal best. She showed up and really proved she can compete at this level.”
Other Gamecock returners at the FSU Invite included Cailin Saylor in 42nd, Savannah Bowers in 43rd, Kira Jenkins in 45th, Hannah Cella in 47th, Sierra Biber in 54th, Sarah Riser in 57th Kensi Gray in 66th, Isabella Pisani in 69th and Lyndsey Fowler in 72nd.
On top of Dominique, Kathleen Abrams and Jenna Pellizzari both made their debuts for the Gamecocks in Tallahassee. Abrams finished in 48th while Pellizzari finished in 85th.
Up next, the Gamecocks get back to training for their next meet at the UAB Blazer Classic on Friday, October 16, at 8:10 a.m.
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