Will Wilson/Citadel Invite
Lady Bucs win title at Will Wilson/The Citadel Invite
9/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern Lady Bucs had four of the top eight overall finishers to win the team title at the Will Wilson Citadel Invitational on Saturday morning. Sophomore Jessie Dotson finished second overall to lead CSU.
Bucs' coach Ryan Thompson was thrilled with his team's performance Saturday.
"It was a great race day," said Thompson. "Our top four finishers all finished in the top 10. You can't ask for anything better. As a coach, you want to try and find something to work on. But this is the first meet we have won since I have been here, so that is at least six years. So I'm going to have to try and find something for us to work on. But that is a good place to be."
Sophomore Jessie Dotson, who ran a 19:02, finished less that a second behind The Citadel's Danielle McKee. It was a tight finish that Thompson said was good for fans to see.
"Danielle McKee, she is an awesome runner," remarked Thompson on McKee, who narrowly edged out Dotson. "She was gaining confidence in that last half mile and it was great to watch them battle down the stretch there. It makes it exciting for the fans." Thompson was pleased by his entire team's performance.
"The rest of the girls (ran well)," Thompson said, recalling his pre-meet speech. "When we met in the locker room at school today, I told them, "I want you to win the meet. If you don't win it, I'm going to be disappointed." I felt like, given our competition today, we had the chance. It was tough. This is their third weekend in a row to race. They are tired. Next week they have off, so it is a much need rest."
The other three Bucs that finished in the top 10 also ran times of less than 20 minutes. First year runners Hannah Palm and Madison Burkholder ran times of 19:39 and 19:53 respectively. Senior Mary Davidson set her career mark Saturday with a time of 19:56. Freshman Emily Lyons finished with a time of 20:20.
While Saturday's meet was a record day for the Lady Bucs' team, Thompson still has the team focusing on the Big South Conference Championship on November 2nd. "They raced with a lot of confidence today," Thompson said. "That is how they are going to have to race at the conference championships. If they run timid at the championships, we are going to get the doors blown off of us. But today, then ran about as well as you could. The freshmen girls ran like upperclassmen. Jessie ran like a senior. Mary Davidson, a senior, ran her career best. To see her career develop like it has over the last three years has been quite the experience. She works so hard and is so dedicated. It was awesome to see her set that personal mark today."
The Lady Bucs will get next weekend off. The next meet they will participate in will be the Royal Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte on October 11th.
-CSU-
