Elon, NC- Freshman Emma Flynn shattered by nearly three minutes the Bluefield State women's school record for a 4-kilometer cross country race, while freshman Austin Sigman led the men's team by setting a brand new school standard in the 6-kilometer race Friday night at Elon University's Friday Night Lights meet.
Flynn's finish of 16:09 topped the previous mark, set at 19:00.6 last September by Victoria Cabral at the University of Charleston Invitational.
"Emma had an absolutely great race today," said Bluefield State Head Cross Country Coach Brooks Rexroat. "She came out aggressive, found the right pack of runners to pull her forward, and she topped her training-based projection by more than a minute. We're really excited about how she's started, and she's got a big career ahead of her. Kellie Williams (16:41) followed closely behind, and Nikki Walker and Abbey Puckett worked together really well to pick up a couple of spots as the race wound down. We saw some nice finishes by Khrisalyn (Kegler)and Kayla (Havens). Arianna Wickliff ran a gutty race, too. Our top five finishers all topped the previous school record and Kayla just missed it at the sixth spot, so this group is really going to take us to the next level as a program. We're thrilled about the race, and excited about what's to come."
In total, the top five B-State finishers all crossed the line within 14 places, which pleased the coaching staff.
"The women retained contact with each other, worked together, and ultimately put in a really good showing," Rexroat said.
This was the men's first recorded race at 6-kilometers, and Sigman set the pace in 21:57.2 by working alongside Kevin Macias (22:00) for the entire run, ultimately outpacing his teammate by a few steps at the line.
"Kevin and Austin had a great outing. We've got some guys who've taken time off or are fairly new to the sport, and we're excited to see their development, but this was a really nice performance out of our frontrunners," Rexroat said. "This was the longest race of their career for everyone on the men's side, and we got a little too much adrenaline in us and went out a bittoo fast at the start, but we'll continue to work on pacing and the drop in distance (5-kilometers) next week at Roanoke will get some of us back into our comfort zone.
Christon Hardemon was the third finisher for B-State, followed by Tyler Davis and Javan McBride, with Ben Walker, and Jalen Jones rounding out the B-State finishers.
Overall, the Big Blue women earned sixth place and the men's team finished eighth, competing against a field largely comprised of NCAA Division I opponents.
"We went up against some outstanding competition in our opener, and our athletes responded with some really excellent performances," said Rexroat. "With 13 athletes competing in their first collegiate contest, we got some jitters out of the way and got to experience an elite racing environment. Elon put on a first-class meet, and our athletes got a taste of high-level competition this weekend."
Duke, ranked number 6 in the preseason U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Division I Southeast Region poll, won the men's race, followed by host Elon.
Elon, which earned a number 11 southeast regional preseason ranking from USTFCCCA, topped Duke, ranked tenth, to take the women's title.
"With such a young team, it was important that our athletes got to spend the opener with truly elite athletes—not only racing but observing how top-tier athletes prepare and go through the rhythm of meet day," Rexroat said. "We learned some things today that will help us immensely when we begin competition against teams with like resources and at our divisional level."
Next Friday, the B-State Squad shifts its focus to smaller college opponents, running against a field comprised of NCAA Div. II and III opponents at the Roanoake College Rooney Invitational. Shaw, UVA-Wise, Averitt, Mary Washington, Pfeiffer, Roanoke, Virginia Union, and WVU Tech are scheduled to race, beginning at 5 p.m. at Green Hill Park in Salem, VA.
