Mountaineer runners collect gold, silver at Firetower Project Run
Courtesy of Andy McLean, App State Athletics
The Mountaineer cross country team takes off at the start of the Firetower Project Sept. 16, 2022.
September 20, 2022
Mountaineer cross country runners added accolades to an already decorated weekend for App State athletics at the 8K Firetower Project Run Friday. The men took home first place and the women finished in second.
Freshman Ethan Lipham followed up his Sun Belt Runner of the Week campaign by placing first with a time of 25:19.13, his personal best. Junior Oliver Wilson-Cook earned silver with a 25:24.45 time. Junior Dwayne Lillie ran a 25:37.51 to finish in fourth, and sophomores Calbert Guest and Chase Burrell finished in sixth and seventh place with 25:46.47 and 25:47.14, respectively.
Sophomore Linnea Maynard led the way for the women with a fourth place finish and a personal best 17:58.58 time. Sophomore Karsyn Kane, the reigning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, recorded a 13th place finish and 18:18.45 time. Senior Lila Peters followed suit in 14th place with an 18:19.72 time. Sophomore Annie Amundsen ended the day on a high note with her personal record of 18:28.47 and 17th place finish.
On the day, five men’s runners placed in the top 10, and four women’s runners placed in the top 20. Cross country head coach, Michael Curcio, hopes they can parlay this success into a conference title.
“Our goal as always is to challenge for a conference title, in the long run, we hope to challenge the regional powers,” Curcio said.
The Mountaineer runners will look to stay in rhythm when they travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the Live in Lou Cross Classic Oct. 1.
