JONESBORO, Ga.—The results just keep getting better for Agnes Scott Cross Country.
Two weeks after running to six personal records, Agnes Scott upped the ante with eight of its nine runners setting career bests at the Clayton State Cross Country Challenge on Friday night September 27, 2019. The Scotties saw marked improvement across the roster, aiding them to a season-best fourth-place finish in the eight-team meet.
First-year Monica Neely (Columbus, Ga.) led the Scotties with the top time for the fourth consecutive meet to start the year. Neely shaved nearly a minute off her collegiate-best, earned just two weeks ago at the University of North Georgia. The first-year finished 14th overall as an individual with a time of 22:31, earning 10 points for the Scotties.
Catherine Ortega (Lawrenceville, Ga.) also posted a career-best time, coming in 20th overall at 23:53.2. The mark was 10 seconds under her previous personal record set at UNG.
The Scotties rounded out their scoring in impressive fashion when Haeden Fura (Winder, Ga.), Isabel Gaspar (Chicago, Ill.) and Arin Yost (Hockley, Texas) all finished in order. Fura has been a permanent presence in the middle of the scoring lineup for the Scotties and she continued that trend with a career-best 24:57.5 finish, good enough for 26th. Gaspar entered the scoring lineup for the first time in 2019, taking a full minute and a half off her previous best time in a 5K. Yost also improved their time for the third straight meet, coming in 28th overall at 25:26.7.
Andrea Barron (Chicago, Ill.) and Hannah Brendell (Windhoek, Namibia) finished just outside of the scoring lineup 20 seconds after Yost crossed the end line.
Rosa Venegas Hernandez (Marietta, Ga.) also registered a personal record for Agnes Scott.
The Scotties ended as the top Division III program at the meet, beating Wesleyan (Ga.) who finished eighth.
Columbus State won the overall team title after seeing its top five runners take the top five spots in the race. Host Clayton State finished second, while D1 Georgia State secured third.
After a busy start to the season, Agnes Scott has three weeks off from competition before heading to the Berry Invitational on October 19.
