Cleveland State Community College's Cross Country teams competed in the Maryville Invitational this past weekend. The women's team started first taking off at 9:00 AM. The lady cougasrs were led once again by Madison Guider who finished 5th overall with a time of 25:10 on the 6K course. The time of 25:10 was a personal record for Guider. "She is continuing to get better and I look forward to seeing her run at the next level," said head coach David Kyle. KiAna Queener also ran well and finished in 21st place with a time of 28:07, while Whitney McConnell placed 31st in 29:31, Alexis Kyle placed 36th in 30:43, and Sadie Lane was 46th in 35:45. The women's team continues to battle illness and minor injuries as Sadie Lane pushed through an ankle issue during the race. Overall, the women's team placed in 5th place out of the 8 teams present.
The men's team also put out a solid performance. Derek Gallardo and David Tullock each pushed through some illnesses, but they fought hard to the end and scored valuable points for the Cougars. "I am super proud of these men today, they all have had some pain lately but they ran hard today," said coach Kyle. Luis Perez led the team as he finished in 6th place overall. Perez ran the 8K course in a time of 27:57. Alec Bloomer and Alberto Dominguez paced each other throughout the race as they finished 17th and 18th with times of 31:09 and 31:11 respectively. Derek Gallardo ran a great race considering he has been hurt for over a week. He ran a 32:19 finishing 21st overall. David Tullock pushed hard to finish in 31st place with a time of 35:25. The men's team finished 3rd overall out of the 6 teams. "We will try to heal up over the next few days. I hope to get some good training this next week as we do not race again till October 13th." said coach Kyle.
Cleveland State's next race will occur on October 13th, as they will attend the Berry College Invitational in Mt. Berry, Georgia.