by Richard Walker
Gaston College’s final tune-up before next week’s Region 10 championships was a success as all four runners finished with personal bests and the Rhinos competed in a talented field of mostly NCAA Division I runners on Saturday morning at Milliken Research Center in Spartanburg, S.C.
Sophomore Keirieonna Wilson (19 minutes, 30.5 seconds for 80th-place), freshman Lexi Birtwistle (20:28.9 for 117th), freshman Maddie Frank (21:07.9 for 140th) and sophomore Abbygale King (25:38.8 for 186th) all had their best times as Gaston College was without other runners and didn’t have the necessary five participants for a team score.
“I could not be more proud of how the ladies ran today,” Gaston College cross country coach Kody Kubbs said. “All four of our runners set career bests with their times at an incredibly competitive invitational. Today’s performance is a testament to their hard work and dedication to their training routine. This was our final tune-up before Region 10 next Saturday, so it’s definitely nice to go into the week feeling good about where our training has gotten us too.
“Now we gotta turn around and get ready for our biggest race of the year next Saturday.”
