In just their first year of competition, two members of the Roane St. women’s cross country team and a member of the men’s team earned All-Region honors at the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Cross Country Championships held at Maryville College. Additionally, three Raiders and a pair of Lady Raiders earned berths to the NJCAA DII Cross Country and Half Marathon National Championships.
Freshman runner Ivy Tilson, only five days removed from completing her first-ever half marathon, ran a personal best time of 22:43 and finished third overall in the 5K championship race. The Oakdale, Tenn. native and Mt. Pisgah Christian Academy graduate was named to the All-Conference team and has earned berths in the upcoming national championships in both cross country and half marathon. Prior to joining the Lady Raiders, Tilson had not previously competed in either cross country or track and field.
Freshman Christen Chaston finished fifth overall in the women’s championship with a personal best time of 23:48. Chaston, a native of Oliver Springs, Tenn., was also named to the All-Conference team and qualified for the women’s national cross country championship. Like Tilson, Chaston had never been a runner prior to joining the Lady Raiders inaugural team. She had played soccer and basketball while attending Oliver Springs High School.
From the men’s team, freshman Matthew Cannon finished third overall in the men’s 8K championship with a time of 31:59 (just five seconds shy of his personal best). Cannon, a Harriman High School graduate and high school cross country runner, was named to the men’s All-Conference team and earned a berth into the national championship.
Also earning spots at the national championship were freshmen Noah Cox (a former high school sprinter and graduate of Wartburg High School) and Jeremy Woody (who had been a cross country and track athlete at Lenoir City High School).
In their first year of cross country competition, the Raiders and Lady Raiders participated in the six meets, including the Region VII Championships. Other meets in which Roane St. competed in were the Walters State Opener on Aug. 25 and the Walters State Senators Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 10, both in Morristown, Tenn.; the Mike & Mary Kay Johnson Invitational at Berea College in Berea, KY on Sept. 15; the Welch College Invitational in Gallatin, Tenn. on Sept. 24; and Oct. 7, the Calhoun Community College WarHawk Cross Country Invitational near Decatur, Ala.
The NJCAA DII Cross Country and Half Marathon Championships will be held in Tallahassee, Fla., Nov. 12 and 15.
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