Women’s Cross Country Team qualifies for national competition

11/02/22

Women’s Cross Country Team qualifies for national competition

Gadsden — Despite the challenges of being a first-year team, the Women’s Cross Country Team at Gadsden State Community College has qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Cross Country Meet to be held Nov. 12 in Tallahassee, Fla.

The team, which has remained in the Top 25 among Division II community colleges in the country this season, qualified for the national meet after finishing fourth at the Alabama Community College Conference Region 22 Meet on Oct. 28 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. The women’s team’s average time was 23:47. The women’s teams from Wallace State, Calhoun and Marion Military Institute were the Top 3.

“I’m proud of the girls’ team for coming to the scene as a first-year team and consistently performing well enough to maintain a Top 25 ranking on the NJCAA Coaches Poll,” said Roseanne Green, head coach. “This is a feather in our hat and will propel our recruiting for new signees.”

The top female runner for the Cardinals at the 5K divisional meet is Jordan Clark with an eighth-place finish and a time of 22:01.5. Clark is a freshman at Gadsden State and a graduate of Arab High School. Southside High School graduates and twin sisters, Mallory and Lacey Rich, finished close to each other at 17^th and 19^th place respectively. Mallory finished with a 23:27 while Lacey finished at 23:55.7.

Other Gadsden State finishes include: Camryn Bell, 23^rd place, 24:19.4; Gabrielle More, 27^th place, 25:11.8; Kiera Johnson, 30^th place, 25:45.2; and Chloe Davison, 31^st place, 25:58.9.

Two members of the men’s team qualified to compete at the national meet as individuals. Ashton Vann, a freshman and Ashville High School grad, finished the 8K run in Oxford with a time of 29:25.7. He placed 14^th out of 58 runners. Fellow freshman teammate Javier Soto, a Fort Payne High School graduate, crossed the finish line at 30:35.8 and a 26^th-place finish.

“Ashton and Javier have consistently performed well this season and have the times to finish in the top quarter of entries for Nationals,” Green said. “This experience will set the stage for a successful sophomore season, where we can return to Nationals as a men’s team.”

Overall, Green is pleased with this season’s results for both the men’s and women’s teams and looks forward to going to the national competition.

“My goals for both teams this season were to be competitive in our conference and build a team culture of dedication and success. These goals have been met and exceeded so I am a proud coach to say the least.”