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by Gary Stepp

The Alice Lloyd College Cross Country squad traveled to Pikeville on September 6th to participate in the UPike Dual Meet. This race would serve as a warm-up for the upcoming schedule and allow the young Eagles to get an early race under their belts against another squad. Participants from Pikeville, as well as several unattached runners, joined the Eagles on a mountainous 5K course, as twenty-two total runners left the starting line.

Greg Randolph

Greg Randolph

Greg Randolph (North Laurel) turned in a solid performance, as the sophomore from London, KY completed the challenge in 18:15. For his effort, Randolph earned first place. The easy win was surprising since Randolph had just recently begun training after suffering for most of the summer and preseason with a back injury.

Donavan Johnson (Harlan Co.) made a solid showing as well as he finished in fifth place with a solid time of 20:03. The freshman is showing improvement every day.

The two frontrunners were followed by the newcomer duo of Clay Montgomery (North Laurel) and Tyler Turner (Harlan Co.), who finished in eighth (21:30) and ninth place (23:47), respectively.

On the women’s side, sophomore Allison Holbrook (Leslie Co.) was the second female to cross the line. Her time was 24:15. She was followed closely by the freshman duo of Harlan County natives Jennifer Graham and Kassie Rouse who finished third and fourth. Graham’s time was 24:38, while Rouse crossed in 24:51.

Allison Holbrook

Allison Holbrook

In addition, newcomers Katie Hylton (Lawrence Co.) and Samantha Hurley (Knott Co.) showed a lot of fight as they completed the challenge in times of 33:45 and 33:53 each.
    
“I am very pleased with the overall improvement we are making,” commented Coach Gary Stepp after the match. “We are working hard and the team is really a tight-knit group. I am very proud of every runner for giving a solid effort, and I am looking forward to the rest of this season.”

The Alice Lloyd College men’s and women’s cross country teams will next compete in the Centre College Invitational on September 14th.