The women’s team finished the race with a team time of 1:38:30:54. Audrey Hazlehurst, a senior pharmacy student, was the first member to cross the finish line with a time of 19:22, coming in seventh place overall. Union then had five other runners place in the top 20 spots. BethAnne Davis, a junior nursing major, finished 11th with a time of 19:42, Lindsey Jakeman, a sophomore business management major, finished 13th with a time of 19:44, freshman Janey Berends, undecided, finished 14th with a time of 19:45 and Abby Berends, a freshman special education major finished 18th with a time of 19:55. All five of the girls in the top 20 made the GSC all-conference team.
Head coach Gary Johnson was pleased with the team’s performance this weekend.
“This group of young people is committed to honoring God with their gift to run,” said Johnson. “Each member of this team works very hard to help us achieve any kind of success.”
At the conference championship, after all of the runners have finished, their times are tallied up and the overall winner of the race is announced. Hazlehurst said that this is the time that is the most nerve racking.
“While in other sports you instantly know who won when the game is over, the suspense after finishing a XC race can be unnerving,” said Hazlehurst. “Waiting to hear our score made it even more exciting when we found out that we were the conference champions. Some of us were even crying.
“Then, coming back to Union with a gym full of students cheering for us made it even better. It was a great day and being the first team to gain this title is such blessing. We made a bit of history last weekend and I couldn’t be more proud of my team. We know that we couldn’t have done it without our faith and are reminded of this each and every morning when we pray together after practice.”
Hazlehurst also said that this season has really been the icing on the cake as this is her last year to compete for the Lady Bulldogs and is extremely excited about ending her senior year on such a good note.
Up next for the women’s team is the NCAA South Regional meet in Huntsville, Alabama on Nov. 22.
In order to qualify for nationals at the regional meet, the team must place in the top three spots.
In preparation for regionals and the national meet the team is continuing their practices as normal until then.
“This group is so special that they get up everyday and come out at 5:45 a.m. to work hard at improving their gift,” said Johnson. “They are an amazing group of students and runners that I wish everyone on campus could spend some time with. They are a great blessing in my life and I am sure they are the same to their friends and classmates.”
Hazlehurst also commented on their preparation for the remainder of the season.
“Our goal is to do well at regionals so that we can make it to nationals,” said Hazlehurst. “Regionals is a harder run as it is a 6k for the girls and a 10k for the guys. However, I have complete faith in my team and know that we will make it if we continue to encourage and pray for each other, stay focused and give it our best.”
As this was Union’s first GSC title, Johnson and the team were very honored and encouraged to be apart of it.
“We felt proud to be able to win the first GSC championship for Union. We hope it gives the school and the athletic department a boost of confidence as we begin our journey in the NCAA,” said Johnson. “We often talk about why the school puts its name on our jerseys instead of the player’s names. We are representing Union in what we do and ultimately honoring God through athletics.”
