Gaston College cross country team has high hopes as 2023 season begins on Saturday

It was one history-making moment after another for the 2022 Gaston College women's cross country team.

Competing as a full-fledged team for the first time after an organizational season in 2021, the Rhinos recorded a number of firsts:

First time to post a team score in a meet; First time to have all seven runners on the roster to complete a race; Second-place team finish in the Region 10 championships in Spartanburg, S.C., with sophomore Victoria Perez finishing third overall and qualifying for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championships in Florida; First time in school history to send a Gaston College athlete to a national championship event as Perez competed and finished 134th from a field of 184 runners.

Every time the Rhinos lined up for a race, they reached another milestone.

However, second-year coach Kody Kubbs, who teaches and coaches at South Point High, is not one to rest on his laurels.

Even with a mostly retooled roster, and no Victoria Perez (now at UNC Charlotte), the goal is not to merely reach the same level of success as 2022, but to scale an even higher bar.

"We're circling the Region 10 meet on our calendar (Oct. 28), and this year we want to win it, not just finish second again," Kubbs said.

For that matter, why not qualify more than runner for the national championships? Why not shoot for the whole team?

"We had a highly successful year last year, and that's now the standard. But we think we can improve on the standard," Kubbs said.

Kubbs bases his rose-colored outlook on the group of talented runners he recruited to the Dallas campus for the 2023-24 school year.

"I think the program is in a good place," Kubbs said. "We have hard workers who are dedicated to their sport, and that should show up this fall. The depth is better than what we have had. From runner one to runner nine, I feel very confident in who we have representing us."

The roster lists seven freshmen and three returning sophomores. While it will be difficult to replace a runner like Victoria Perez, who did so much for the program, Kubbs expects freshman Keirieonna Wilson (South Iredell High) to compete for the No. 1 spot on the team.

"She's the real deal," the head coach said of the South Iredell alum. "She was a very decorated runner in high school. Very talented with a strong work ethic to go with it. Filling Victoria's shoes will be tough, but she should do a heck of a job for us."

Another runner Kubbs is bullish on is freshman Abbygale King out of South Point High. King comes to Gaston College after starring in two sports at South Point—soccer and basketball.

"She (King) is transitioning from soccer, and she is off to a great start," Kubbs noted.

An incoming freshman with a solid cross country background is East Lincoln graduate Abigail Presley. Kubbs describes Presley as a "true cross country runner who works hard and who will be a big asset for us."

Elsewhere, Kubbs labels Piedmont Community Charter graduates Alayna Cook and Abigale Harris "tremendous athletes who are transitioning to cross country, and I am excited to see what they can do."

Another "hard-working" member of the freshman class is Maytalene Lopez out of Hunter Huss High, Kubbs said.

The returning runners in the sophomore class are Emma Laney (Brookwood Academy, Spartanburg, S.C.), Leah Treat (Dallas, N.C.) and Stefani Vergara-Delgado (North Lincoln High).

Kubbs will rely on the trio's experience to provide leadership for the newcomers.

"These girls have a good feel for our program and what we are trying to build on," Kubbs said. "They are doing a phenomenal job of translating that to the new ones. They have made the new girls feel welcome from day one and showed them what the expectations are."

Rounding out the roster is freshman Mary Turnage from Havelock, N.C. She will serve as team manager this fall.

The Rhinos open the season Saturday, Sept. 16, in the Pfeiffer Invitational, which is the first of four weekend meets leading to the Region 10 championships in late October at nearby Cleveland Community College.