Men's Cross Country | Toccoa Falls College

Eagles Fly to Second Place

The Toccoa Falls College cross country team competed in the Kentucky Christian University Invitational in Grayson, Kentucky, on October 26. The event at KCU had 7 teams and 35 total runners. Five runners competed for TFC, and the Eagles finished second in the 8K event.

Samuel Burnett was the Eagles’ top finisher. Burnett finished fourth overall with a time of 28:06. Finishing with a time of 29:20, Jordy Lang finished 11^th. Jeremiah McDuffie finished third for the Eagles and 13^th overall in 29:40. Evan Garrett (30^th) and Andrew Schmidt (31^st) ran together and finished in 34:05 and 34:07, respectively. TFC’s team time of 2:35:18 earned them second place behind Asbury University. Without two of their top runners, the Eagles impressive team time enabled them to defeat runners from Pikeville College, Alice Lloyd College, Cincinnati Christian, Kentucky Christian, and Johnson University. This is the first time in the 9 year history of the program that all runners on both teams received a trophy.

TFC cross country will compete in the NCCAA national tournament in Cedarville, Ohio, on November 10.

TFC Hosts TFC Eagles Invitational

The men’s and women’s cross country teams at TFC hosted the annual TFC Eagle Invitational on October 12. The event was coupled with homecoming weekend, and was an exciting event for the participants. The uneven terrain and hills, the excitement of homecoming weekend, and the finish line at The Falls made the course a truly unique experience.

The TFC Eagle Invitational sponsored a men’s 8K race. Lke the women’s 5K, the 8K was also won by a runner from Southern Wesleyan. Josh Thatcher (28:46) won the men’s side for SWU. TFC placed third out of four in the men’s competition. Leading the way for the Eagles was Samuel Burnett in 29:41. Burnett finished fourth overall out of 37 runners. TFC’s second finisher was Jordy Lang. Lang finished 11^th overall with a time of 31:46. 13^th overall was TFC’s Jeremiah McDuffie in 32:48. Jimmy Ratliff recorded a time of 33:26, good enough for 15^th overall. Joshua Spangler (37:11), Evan Garrett (37:26), and Andrew Schmidt (37:26) finished together and claimed 23^rd, 24^th, and 25^th places. Coach Garside said, “The team did well and ran close to Maryville despite the loss of their number one runner, Ben Pigott, due to an injury.”

Both cross country teams will participate at Kentucky Christian University Invitational on Friday, October 26.

TFC Competes at SWU Invitational

TFC’s cross country teams participated in the Southern Wesleyan University Invitational on September 29. The men’s cross country team finished fifth in an impressive showing.

The event pitted TFC against several scholarship schools, and the Eagles finished the 8 team event in fifth place. The Eagles’ average time for the 8 kilometer race was 30:54. Ben Pigott’s time of 28:39 led the Eagles, and he finished 11^th out of 65 runners. Sam Burnett finished 25^th overall with a time of 29:40. Finishing 36th for the Eagles was Jordy Lang with a time of 30:35. Jeremiah McDuffie was the Eagles fourth finisher (32:27), followed by Jimmy Ratliff (33:09), Andrew Schmidt (35:18), and Joshua Spangler (37:40).

The TFC Eagle Invitational will be held on homecoming weekend, October 12 at 4:30 pm. The annual race is the next event for both the men and women’s cross country teams.

Cross Country Men Win, Women earn 2nd

TFC cross country was very successful in their second race of the season. The men won the four mile race, consisting of four teams. TFC beat a good Maryville College team by just four points. Florida Christian College came took the third team position, 42 points back, and Johnson University came in fourth, another 13 points back. Ben Pigott and Sam Burnett paced each other throughout the race, taking 2nd and 3rd respectively.TFC’s girls ran well for the second team place in the event; Clessie Kendrick led the way for the Eagles, and took second place overall.

Toccoa Falls’ next cross-country meet is a tri-meet at Warren Wilson College on September 21.

TFC Cross Country Face Tough Competition, Gains Valuable Experience

The men’s and women’s cross country teams at TFC participated in the Eye Opener, hosted by University of South Carolina-Upstate in Spartanburg, SC. As the only non-scholarship team participating in the event, the Eagles faced a tough test from the beginning. Host USC-Upstate and most of the other participating teams are members of NCAA Division I. Despite the intense humidity and tough competition, the Eagles did have a few highlights on the day.

In the men’s 8k, the Eagles were able to place ahead of three scholarships schools for a finish of 22nd. Ben Pigott finished 104 out of 203 in the men’s 8k with a time of 30:39. Jordan Lang also had a respectable time, finishing 133 with a time of 31:57. Following Lang was Samuel Burnett (32:11), Jeremiah McDuffie (34:01), and Jimmy Ratliff (34:17).

To lead the Eagles on the women’s side was sophomore Clessie Kendrick. Kendrick finished 97 out of 195 runners. Her 5k time was 23:02. Alisha Carson (26:16), Christine Wells (27:29), Rebekah Stillwell (28:12) and Jodi Braselton (28:16) also counted for the Eagles.

Coach Dale Garside said, “Our strong core of veterans along with two competitive newcomers show great promise for upcoming races in our conference.” The Eagles will travel to Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee, this weekend for the Johnson University Invitational.