Lee Runners Finish Season At Gulf Coast Conference Championships

  • Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Lee University cross country teams participated in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) ChampionshipsSaturday morning. Due to Lee having provisional status and not full NCAA Division II members, the two squads were ineligible to win the conference championship and were not included in the official results. In the unofficial results, the Flames finished first and the Lady Flames were sixth.

“The men were fifth last year, so to be able to come back and finish first a year later shows how hard out team has worked,” said Lee head coach Caleb Morgan. “Our women did great today. We felt like sixth was about where we would end up. This group wants more and has their sights set on coming back next year and being in contention for the win.”

Harold Smith continued his strong freshman campaign with a mark of 25:52.55 in the 8K race. His time put him in second behind Shorter University’s Silos Too (24:35.45). There were 81 individuals that competed in the event.

Freshman Seth Eagleson was sixth (26:06.89) and sophomore Tyler Boone finished eighth (26:20.58). Emmanuel Kipchumba and Camden Perez rounded out the top five finishers for the Flames. Kipchumba finished 13th (26:46.51) and Perez was 17th (27:00.65).

When Lee’s fifth runner crossed the finish line, West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville were the closest with three across the line each.

Joseph Crook finished the race at 27:28.04 (29th) and Adam Gullette was 53rd (28:38.74). Terris Elliott and Nick Eckert were the final two Lee runners to finish. Elliott was 69th (29:35.22)and Eckert was two runners back (71st, 29:49.53).

“We got out slow and sat around 10th through 20th for the first mile. This course is very challenging and can take a lot out of you in the later stages of the race. Our men moved us nicely and had momentum the whole race. Having two freshmen and a sophomore finish in the top eight shows how young and talented this group is,” added Morgan.

In the 5K women’s race, Jessica Childers was Lee’s top finisher. The junior finished fifth out of 86 runners with a time of 19:09.66. Elizabeth Sillcocks crossed the finish line at 19:27.70 (11th).
Audrey Smith made it three Lady Flames in the top 20. Her mark of 19:46.97 put her in 17th place.

“Childer’s top-five finish was fantastic,” added Morgan. “She was in the lead pack and set herself up well to have a shot at winning. Sillcocks continued her season of big gains and Smith had her best day all year.”

Lauren Hart was 53rd (21:14.72), Emily Bryan 66th (22:03.68) and Danielle King was 67th (22:14.48). Madison Riddle rounded out the Lee runners with a final time of 23:47.60 (83rd).
The Flames and Lady Flames will put a cap on the 2014 season with a trip to Houghton, N.Y. on November 15 for the NCCAA National Championships.

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