The Owls' women's and  men's cross country teams raced on a hot Charlotte afternoon in the Royals XC Challenge.  Usually the McAlpine course is one of the fastest in the south east, but the hot conditions added to the challenge for the runners today.

The women ran a 5K with senior Miriam Kadens leading them home once again, finishing in 20:57 for 32nd place overall, out of 203 runners.  The next runner in for the Owls, Sydney Harris, ran a new personal record for the fourth race in a row with a time of 24:29.  Kayla Schwartz also had a good race, completing the course in 25:13, with Tabitha McBrayer following her at 26:07.  Rounding the team result out for the women was Rosa Koehnlein with a time of 26:37.

The men ran an 8K course with Sophomore, Trevor Nail, continuing to lead them with a strong run for a 28:32 finish.  Aidan Saunders was the next Owl in at 30:08, with Henry Berta close behind him at 30:30.  This is maintaining Henry's trend of dropping his time by about a minute each time he races.  John Vess stepped up to help the Owl's men's team today and ran a solid first race for the team finishing in 39:39.  Seth Walker continues to work his way back to fitness after injuring his ankle and ran 40:45, with Ryan Saunders finishing it out for the men's team at 42:06.

Coach Hills commented, "Overall I'm pleased with the runners' continued progress and I appreciate the effort they're putting in.  We're all looking forward to the break at this point, and we look forward to coming back to McAlpine in two weeks to run in the Johnson and Wales Wildcat XC Classic."