PC’s Johnson and Kaufman Shatter the School Record at the Belmont Opener

The Presbyterian College cross country teams led by senior William Johnson, freshman Noah Kaufman, senior Keyli Gomez, and sophomore Isabel Whitman competed in the Belmont Opener in Nashville, Tenn. Johnson set the school record with a time of 16:26.5 and Kaufman also broke the previous school record with a time of 17:02.1 in the men’s 5k. Whitman (20:31.6) and Gomez (20:35.8) both posted their fastest times in a season-opening meet in their PC careers in the women’s 5k.

Results: Men – 10th | Women – 11th
Location: Percy Warner Park (Nashville, Tenn.)

NOTABLES

• Johnson paced the men’s team crushing Preston Meade’s school-record time of 17:07 which was set in 2016. Kaufman also broke Meade’s school record time in his first collegiate race. Now, Johnson and Kaufman are number one and two in Presbyterian’s record book in the men’s 5k.
• Kevin Lagat posted a time of 18:21.9, Spencer Wieters finished with a time of 18:56.5, Samuel Wall had a time of 20:00.7, James Marler ran a time of 22:55.5 and Nizeyimana Aristide rounded out the Blue Hose men’s runners with a time of 23:48.6.
• Bellarmine won the men’s team title while Bellarmine’s Chase Atkins won the individual title with a time of 15:08.3.
• Whitman and Gomez paced Presbyterian’s women’s team. Caroline Rairigh had a time of 21:36.5, Abby Donaldson finished with a time of 21:47.0 in her first college race. Julie Covil recorded a time of 24:30.2 while Savannah Watson posted a time of 24:38.3 in her collegiate debut.
• The host team Belmont won the women’s title while Southern Illinois’s Rachel Anderson won the individual title with a time of 17:39.6

Up Next
The Blue Hose are back in action in two weeks on Friday, September 15th in the Queen City Invite in Charlotte, N.C.