The Bluefield State cross country teams returned from the USCAA Small College National Championships with a pair of third-place finishes and a trio of All-Americans.
The teams competed Friday, No. 11 at the Bells Mill Park Course in Chesapeake, Virginia. The State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry took both the men’s and women’s team titles.
Emma Flynn capped off a strong freshman campaign for the Big Blue, finishing the 6-kilometer course in seventh place to earn first-team all-America honors. Kellie Williams finished eleventh to earn second-team honors.
Christendom College narrowly edged out the Big Blue to earn second place in the team standings.
For the men, Freshman Kevin Macias finished tenth to earn second-team all-America honors. Austin Sigman finished sixteenth, just two places off of the all-America podium. Johnson & Wales University held off the Big Blue to earn second-place in the team rankings.
The trip was the most successful team outing for B-State at the USCAA national meet. Previous USCAA appearances for the Big Blue women resulted in a 12th-place finish (2017), no team score (2017), and a 17th-place finish (2016). The B-State men have finished 13th (2019), 10th (2017) and 17th (2016).
The meet concludes a successful season for Bluefield State’s cross country teams.
“We accomplished a lot as a group this season, and we’ve grown,” said Bluefield State Head Cross Country Coach Brooks Rexroat. “We fell just short of a few individual and team goals, but wildly surpassed a number of other goals and expectations, so we feel like the program is ahead of pace and we’re excited about the future of Bluefield State cross country. We’re proud of the way we grew throughout the season, and the way our teams and individual athletes raced at the national meet. It was a good finish to an outstanding season.”
In all, the squads finished their 2022 campaigns with four new school records, a USCAA national runner of the week award (Flynn), a USCAA All-Academic Team Honoree (Williams), a women’s team victory at the Roanoke Rooney Invitational, and a trio of USCAA All-Americans.
The Bluefield State running sports programs return to action on Dec. 3, when the indoor track and field teams compete at the Commonwealth Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.
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