It was a beautiful afternoon at the Hillsboro Country Club for the Greenville Classic, and the Blackburn College Women’s Cross Country team ran their best race of the year. Blackburn raced six athletes among the fifty-three competitors from eight schools and finished seventh in the team standings. Mineral Area College came in first place.

Five of the six Blackburn runners ran the fastest 5k race of their college careers, and the only exception was a runner who almost set a PR even though she is recovering from a tough injury. Team captain, Olivia Leemon, was the top finisher for Blackburn for the fourth consecutive race, finishing the 5k course in 24:19, and Liz Morris finished second for Blackburn with a strong race of her own (28:09). Two freshmen were Blackburn’s third and fourth finishers, and both showed dramatic improvement: Sarah Olson shaved over three minutes off her college PR (29:42), and Michaela Moulton shaved nearly five minutes off her personal PR (30:38). Nicky Valverde finished fifth for Blackburn (31:18), and Brianna Bruemmer showed dramatic improvement as well and finished sixth (34:55).

Coach Al Sturgeon said, “The women continue to grow closer as a team while improving their times with each passing race. None of those racing are seniors, and I am excited about the long-term future of the women’s program. We’re just getting started!”

The cross country season concludes on October 29 in Louisville, Kentucky, when the women race in the SLIAC championships.