On Friday morning, the Covenant College cross country teams competed in the Southern Showcase and had the unique opportunity to test itself against several NCAA Division I and Division II teams. Racing in the 8k for the men and 5k for the women, Covenant had several runners set new personal records.
On the men's side Covenant finished 31st out of 47 teams while on the women's side the Scots placed 38th out of 49 teams. Alabama was the team winner in both races.
Josiah Mellott led Covenant with a time of 26:42.47 that placed him in 205th. The next Scots runner to finish was Daniel Bowles, posting a time of 27:03.331 to secure 235th place. This was a new personal record time in the 8k for Bowles.
After winning the 6k Mountainside Stride, Ethan Saiki ran the 8k in 27:10.67 to finish 243rd. This time was another personal record for the Scots. Troy Daniel was the fourth Covenant runner to finish as he posted a time of 28:56.70 to place 350th.
Not far behind Daniel was Alex Burns with a time of 29:05.412 and a 354th place result. This time beats his personal record in the 8k by seven seconds. Samuel Harrelson with a time of 29:23.61 and John Purtill with a time of 29:23.62 were neck-and-neck to secure 361st and 362nd place. Harrelson's time is a new personal record.
The final Covenant runners were Aidan DeVries (29:30.622, 366th), Jacob Howington (29:34.16, 370th), and Chandler Lines (30:24.91, 392nd).
WOMEN'S RESULTS
For the second meet in a row, Evangelia Berry led Covenant with a 5k time of 20:36.68 to place 292nd. This time shattered her previous 5k record from last season. Emerson Tillery posted a time of 20:58.0 which put her in 308th place. This is an improvement by over 2.5 minutes from her lone 5k race in 2023.
Maggie McGinley was the next runner to finish for the Scots with a time of 21:25.64 and a 328th-place result. This beats her personal-record time by four seconds from 2022. Finishing with a time of 21:45.18 and in 341st place was Lydia Moore.
Freshman Kenzi Stapleton (22:34.22, 370th), Greta McLean (22:47.45, 375th), and Sophia Velleco (23:13.67, 382nd) all competed in their first 5k event for the Scots. Claire Mellott set a personal record in the 5k with a time of 23:11.62 and a 381st-place result. The final Covenant runner was Kali Hina who placed 411th with a time of 24:48.99.
The Scots have next weekend off before racing in the Maryville College XC Invitational Sep. 27.