Gaston College cross country competes in second meet of the year in Spartanburg

Gaston College's cross country recorded its second team score in school history while running a first-ever 6K race on Saturday in the Converse Kickoff at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C.

Sophomore Victoria Perez remained a perfect six-for-six in school history as Rhinos' individual medalist with a 79th-place finish and 61-point team after running the course in 28 minutes, 21.8 seconds.

Rounding out Saturday's team scorers for Gaston College were Andrea Ortiz (108th finish, 79-point team score), Audrey Krupa (110th, 80), Leah Treat (111th, 81) and Keren Robleda (112th, 82). Daisy Aviles (113th) also competed for the Rhinos.

"Our girls ran really well today especially since, for most of them, this was their first 6K race," first-year Gaston College coach Kody Kubbs said. "The distance is longer than what we will run for regional but it's good for our training."

The Rhinos started their cross country program last year with four meets but never had the five runners necessary to record a team score.

This season, Gaston College recorded its first team score in its 2022 debut on Sept. 3 in the Fleet Feet Invitational at Catawba College.

The Rhinos return to action on Sept. 24 at 9 a.m. in the first college event held on the Cleveland Community College course in Shelby.