Gaston College cross country team has best finish in school history in Yeti Invitational
Gaston College had the best cross country results of its four-year history on Saturday in the Yeti Invitational at the Cleveland Community College course in Shelby.
Coach Kody Kubbs' team finished second in the seven-team meet held on the same course where the Region 10 championships will be held in November.
It tied for the highest team finish in school history with last year's finish in the Region 10 championships on the same course.
Sophomore Keirieonna Wilson's second place was the highest by an individual in team history.
And Wilson, fourth-place finisher Lexi Birtwistle and fifth-place finisher Maddie Frank gave the Rhinos their best top three finishers in school history.
"We put three in the top five, which is the best team finish we've ever had," Kubbs said. "This was our longest mileage week in our training yet so I'm really pleased with how the team ran today.
"Now we've got 3 weeks until we race again so looking forward to our training block ahead."
Wilson finished as team medalist for the seventh time in her seven career meets at Gaston College with a 20 minute, 35.5-second clocking. Previously, Victoria Perez (third place at 2022 Region 10 championships) and Wilson (third place at 2023 Region 10 championship) had been tied for best individual finishes in school history.
Birtwistle improved on her personal best in the second meet of her career with a 21:43.2 time and Frank had a 22:03.7 clocking.
The previous school record for top three finishers came in the 2022 Region 10 championships when Victoria Perez (3rd), Stefani Vergara-Delgado (ninth) and Rein Norton-Small (11th) finished in the top 11.
Also competing for the Rhinos on Saturday were 25th-place Abbygale King (27:53.2), 26th-place Abigale Harris (27:53.2), 29th-place Alayna Cook (29:32.7) and 35th-place Sara Scoggins (43:23.9). Cook, a sophomore, had her personal best collegiate time.
Gaston College's next meet comes on Oct. 11 when the Rhinos faces the most talented field they'll see all year in the Queen Royals Challenge in Charlotte. The event will feature some of the top-rated NCAA Division I and Division II teams and runners in the country.