Qualifying Meet

The Spartan season was finished, but BMC was still trucking along. We had our regional qualifying meet in Nashville on Friday, November 5th. The top team and the top 5 finishers (not on that team) would qualify for the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, WA!

We got to leave BMC on Thursday and head to Nashville. The weather had turned cold!! We jogged the course, showered, and had dinner at Chili's. To keep us relaxed, we went to go see a movie. We had no major bus problems, and all went smoothly. Our race was early Friday afternoon, so we did not have to get up early and get to the course. (Which was a good thing, because it was freezing!) We had breakfast, gathered our things, and then went to kill some time in the local mall.

We did not go into the race thinking that we would get either team spot. With two runners in boots (Ashlee and Mary), the odds of our women beating Union were slim to none, and girls were competing for individual slots. In the same way, the BMC men were hoping to beat Bethel, claim second place, and take several individual slots.

It was an exciting day, and I was about as wound up as I get as a coach. The girls ran first and did a GREAT job. Tuesdae, Magan, and Emma qualified for nationals! Beth and Stephanie ran good races, and improved their times for the Nashville course. During the men's race, I began to think Austin was going to beat all of the Kenyans... He ran very strong! He ended up finishing right behind the two Union Kenyans, and he got 3rd overall. Richard had a great race; he beat the Bethel runners and qualified also! The guys all had great races as well... it was just a competitive field.

BMC would be represented by 5 runners at the National Championship race! WooHoo!

After the race, we loaded up into the van and drove all the way to Clinton, MS for the MS Cross Country Championships.

It was a long day, but it was a fun trip down south. Scott rode down with the East Union team and met us at our hotel. The next day came all too soon. We got to see recruits in every race, and they all had a good day.

By the time we arrived home late on Saturday evening, I was thankful that there were only two weeks left in the season!