PREVIEW: XC To Compete in First TCCAA Championship Friday

Both Cross Country teams will travel to Maryville, Tenn. on Friday to take on Walters State in the inaugural TCCAA Championship Meet. The women will race in a 5k at 10:00 ET with the men following in an 8k at 11:00 ET.

The Cougars and Lady Cougars are coming off of a strong showing at the Berry Invitational last Saturday. The men placed sixth overall in a stacked field of teams, with Derek Gallardo leading the way with his 20th place finish and a personal best 8k time of 26:34.96. Erik Martinez also cracked the top 25, placing 25th with a personal record time of 26:41.91. Almost all of the Cougars followed suit with Gallardo and Martinez, setting personal bests. The women did not field a full team to make an appearance in the team standings, but all three women racing also set personal best marks in the 6k in Mount Berry, Ga. Sadie Lane led the way for Cleveland State, running a 29:50.08.

Both teams have faced Walters State on multiple occasions before at both the Berry Invitational and Maryville Invitational back on Sept. 27. Both times the men have defeated the Senators, with the Cougars placing seven places ahead of them in Mount Berry and winning the meet in Maryville, Tenn. while Walters State finished fourth of five total teams. The women were not able to record a team score to compare placing at Berry, but at Maryville, the Lady Cougars suffered a narrow defeat to Walters State, falling just one place behind them. 

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