The Union University men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed last weekend in the Louisville Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Ky.
The men’s team ran an 8k and placed eighth out of 13 teams. Their fastest runner was junior Cornelius Kipchumba, with a time of 26:05.8.
The women’s team participated in a 5k and placed eleventh out of sixteen teams. Their fastest runner was junior Abigail Bergquist, with a time of 18:51.4.
Bailey Bell, the head coach for both teams, was very pleased with how the teams competed in their first meet of the season.
“I felt like overall the teams are off to a great start,” Bell said. “[I was] really encouraged by how everyone did today and how everyone competed.”
Going into the race, the runners saw this as an opportunity to set their expectations moving forward.
“It’ll be a good way to gauge where our team is at because it’s hard to tell [since it’s] the first race,” said Sydnee Meadows, sophomore exercise science major and runner for the women’s team. “It’ll give us like a benchmark of where we can go from here.”
Coach Bell felt the same way. He also said that the results of the meet would affect their training and preparation for the rest of the season.
Both teams’ ultimate goal is to do well in the conference championships. They are the only teams within the athletic department that have the opportunity to represent Union in conference championships as of now. They are taking this responsibility seriously.
“It feels like we’re carrying a torch,” Bell said. “We’re really honored and excited to be out there representing Union as literally the only fall sports team that’s having a championship season.”
The next meet for the cross-country teams will be on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Clinton, Miss., at the Mississippi College Watson Invitational. The teams will wrap up their season on Saturday, Oct. 31, in Huntsville, Ala., at the Gulf South Conference Championships.
