App State cross country earns six awards at Sun Belt Championships
Courtesy of Andy McLean, App State Athletics
Several Mountaineers compete in the Sun Belt Championships in Foley, Alabama, Oct. 28, 2022.
October 31, 2022
App State’s cross country season concluded Friday at the Sun Belt Championships in Foley, Alabama. The men placed second and women finished in fifth.
Six Mountaineer runners earned All-Conference awards at the event. Despite the strong showings, Arkansas State won the men’s event and Southern Miss. won the women’s race.
For the men’s 8K, junior Oliver Wilson-Cook took off for a 2:48.2 time and fifth place finish to earn the First Team All-Conference distinction. A trio of Mountaineer runners earned Second Team All-Conference. Graduate student Ryan Brown snagged eighth place after running a 24:40.9. Hot on his tail was sophomore Garrett Bivens who finished in ninth place with a 24:44.9 time, and sophomore Chase Burrell took home 10th place after running a time of 24:45.2. Junior Ryan Teuscher earned a Third Team All-Conference nod for finishing in 14th place with a time of 25:07.8.
“Garrett and Chase were able to really step up by earning all-conference honors along with Ryan Brown and Ryan Teuscher,” head coach Michael Curcio said. “Only thing was Arkansas State was the best team on that day in Foley.”
The women’s 5K was highlighted by sophomore Linnea Maynard, who earned Third Team All-Conference after her 17:43.5 time earned her 15th place. Sophomore Karsyn Kane continued advancing her cross country career when she finished in 19th place with a personal record time of 18:06.7. She was not the only Mountaineer runner to score a personal record. Senior Madison Christy’s PR of 18:23.3 earned her 24th place. Just behind, junior Annie Amundsen, the reigning women’s Sun Belt Runner of the Week, also logged a PR of 18:74.6 to finish in 26th place.
“The ladies put together their best team race since the Firetower project run back in September at home,” Curcio said. “We had our healthiest lineup all season.”
The Mountaineer runners conclude their season Nov. 11 when they travel to Louisville, Kentucky, for the NCAA Southeast Regionals.
“Some of our athletes will take a well deserved break, others will move on to the Southeast Regional Championships in two weeks in Louisville,” Curcio said. “We’ll see if we can improve on last year’s finish.”
