Outstanding First Race Of The Season
The race was held on the rolling grass fields at the Georgia Industrial Children's Home property. The weather was perfect for racing-not too hot, not too humid. At 9:45 a.m., 21 women's teams from all over the southeast lined up on the starting line.
Sophomore, Brittany Aikens from Brasselton, Ga., had the nervous jitters as she waited
for the gun to go off in her first race of the season. By the first mile Aikens was in the top ten and by mile two she had moved up to the top five. Brittany finished sixth overall in the race and was one second off her PR (personal record) of 19:32 that was set last year at the SSAC Conference meet in Mississippi. As Brittany crossed the finish line, a gold medal was placed around her neck for finishing in the top 10. Coach McIntyre said, "Brittany had an awesome performance in a field of 166 female runners."
Freshman, Alyssa Sale, from Cumming Ga., made her college race debut today for the Brenau Tigers and finished with an impressive time of 21:10. Sale finished 34th in the race and took her position as second on the team. Coach McIntyre gave a big smile to Alyssa when she greeted her after the race.
Sophomore, Sarah Saenz, from Lawrenceville, Ga., continues to be a solid top five finisher for the Tigers. Today she ran a time of 21:44 and finished third on the team. Coach McIntyre said, "Sarah is a very efficient runner and always runs a very smart race and today was no exception."
Senior, Ashley Tolland of Cumming, Ga., and freshman, Tyana Luna from Lawrenceville, Ga., finished out Brenau's top five scorers for the team. Tolland finished with a time of 22:05 and Luna 22:43. Coach McIntyre said, "These two ladies take their training very serious and will be moving up this season."
This was an outstanding performance for the Tigers and it's only the first race of the season. The team has not only doubled in size this year but also in team spirit. The Tigers will race next Sat., Sept. 22 at Truett McConnell College.
