NASHVILLE, TN - Competing in just their second meet of the season the Kentucky Wesleyan Cross Country teams showed out, with the women winning it all at the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase. The men had a strong showing as well, led by freshman Tanner Hayes and Landon Harper.

Women

Kate Keller took second overall in the 5K race with a stellar time of 20:37. Just about 30 seconds behind her was junior Emery Crume, who finished with a time of 21:04, good for fourth place. Wesleyan kept together as a pack, with every other runner finishing between 5th and 9th place. Sarah Vanderhoof (21:41), Shannon Ruble (21:42), Lucy Knutson (21:51), Sidney Reagor (22:59), and Haley Maguire (23:14) all had strong performances. 

"The girls executed the race plan we've been discussing this week perfectly, and it paid off with a team win," said Head Coach Sol Stephens. "Keller ran well competing to the finish line for her 2nd place finish, and Emery had another consistent race. The pack of Shannon, Lucy and Sarah put us in great contention for scoring. Any win at the college level is an accomplishment. Moving forward, we are going to continue tightening up our split from 1 to 7 because it will pay major dividends by the end of the year."

"I am very proud of the team's performance today," said Kate Keller. "I felt like I ran hard but there is always room for improvement, I'm extremely excited with my place."

The Panthers finished with 24 points, followed by G-MAC foe Trevecca Nazarene (37), Lemoyne-Owen (86) and Lane (91).

Men

Freshman Tanner Hayes led the way for the Panthers in the men's 8K, finishing 15th with a time of 29:50. Landon Harper came in just behind him in 16th with a time of 30:31, and senior James Loi, racing in his first meet of the year, came in 17th with a time of 30:35.

"The men took another big step forward today all things considered on this wet, muddy course," said Sol Stephens. "We've had to adjust some things around training due to events happening in the park but we survived and came ready to race. These three are working together every day, and James has done a great job of teaching the freshman adjustments to make in practice that will carry over into races. Landon and Tanner are going to put together some impressive freshman running campaigns and we will continue to improve for the back of the season.

Tanner Hayes stated "I think I my fourth mile could have been faster but I'll work on it. As a team we may need to stay in a pack better, but overall I feel like we did well."

The women will be back at it next weekend when they head to Louisville for the Live in the Lou Classic on Saturday, Oct. 2. The men take a two week break until they compete in the Brescia Invitational on Friday, Oct. 8.

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