(August 31, 2024) Conway, Arkansas - Bucks Cross Country kicked off this morning at Beaver Lake for the UCA Bear Invitational. Last season, the ladies only had 3 women on the team. This year, those three ladies are back and joined by 6 new faces. Like every season, the Bucks have the goal of winning the Region II Championship that leads to the National Championship in Richmond, Virginia.
This morning, the ladies ran the 5K race against four NCAA Division I schools: Central Arkansas, UA Little Rock, North Texas, & UA Pine Bluff. Other schools joining the race included Philander Smith and Central Baptist College. There were 39 total runners in the race.
The University of Central Arkansas would win their home race. The Bucks finished fourth overall as a team in the 7 team race.
The ladies had 7 runners in the race due to a few injuries. Darcy Vineyard (Claremore, OK) started off the year by breaking the school record with a 19:19.90 in the 5K race. She would finish 21st overall. Not to be outdone, Sharon Strydom (Cape Town, South Africa) recorded her own sub 20-minute run with a 19:57.10 to finish 26th. This is the first time the Bucks have had runners below 20 minutes in a 5K race.
The rest of the Bucks finished the race in the following order:
30th - Jadelyn Wood (Mansfield, AR) - 21:32.10
31st - Madyson Winn (Greenland, AR) - 21:37.21
33rd - Adriana Montiel (De Queen, AR) - 22:19.90
34th - Avery Carter (Siloam Springs, AR) - 22:20.60
35th - Annabelle Cupps (Cabot, AR) - 22:36.21
Complete race results can be found at https://milesplit.live/meets/633090/events/2/results/F/F.
After a solid start to their young season, the Bucks will turn their attention to the Bob Gravette Invitational next weekend in Arkadelphia, AR. The race is hosted by Ouachita Baptist University.
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