On a beautiful evening for racing, the GMC Bulldogs had a great evening at the 3rd GMC Brickyard Invitational at Council Farms in Milledgeville, GA. As the sun dropped, the times did as well. Beautiful property and a gorgeous sunset created the setting for a great race. The third installment saw 13 teams from NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, NJCAA DI, and NJCAA compete. The inclusion of Georgia Southern made for the first time the GMC Cross Country team hosted an NCAA DI team.
The women's race started first, and the GMC Running Bulldogs led by Jordan Printer (FR, Citrus Springs, FL), who finished at the time of 22:27 and a 21st place finish. Other scoring runners for GMC were Tealani Wasson (FR, Kahuku, HI) 29th, Nova Kroll (FR, Pittsburg, PA) 34th, Paige White (SO, McRae, GA) 37th, and Piper Stephens (FR, Melbourne, FL) 40th. Their team score of 133 saw them defeat NCAA DII, NCAA DIII, NAIA (x2), and an NJCAA school. Beyond those scoring, almost all runners improved from last week's race at Middle Georgia, or those making their debut ran well.
The men's race saw a great example of the pack running for the GMC men's team. Jacob Cain (SO, Brandon, FL) led the way with a 37th place finish while August Curcio (FR, Cumming, GA), 40th, Christopher Pombo (FR, Brewster, MA) 41st, Aidan Garcia (FR, Durham, CT) 42nd. Brandon Williams (FR, Dexter, GA) claimed the 5th spot for the team at 51st. The strong running for the team partially made up for the injury to Sophomore captain Daniel Turnipseed (Blythwood, SC).
"This was a great race for us as a team," commented GMC coach Rob Sherwood. "These amazing runners have done a great job so far this season, not only on the course but also in the classroom. I look forward to their continued progression this season."
The GMC Cross Country teams will next lace up the spikes at the University of West Georgia on 25 September. They will also be hosting the NJCAA DIII National Championship in November at Council Farms. For more information about GMC JC Athletics please visit www.gmcbulldogs.com