LOUISVILLE, Ky.--- Asbury men's and women's cross country competed in their largest meet of the year on Saturday at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky., at the Louisville Classic. The men's team finished 12th of 25 teams with a strong enough team time to qualify for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), while the women finished 39th of 47 teams.
The highlight of the day came from junior social work and adventure leadership and education major
Bailey Gassmann running 23:08.3 for 6000 meters (3.8 miles) to trim eleven seconds off of the Asbury school record, which had been held by Katy Falkenberg since 2015.
A total of 101 women's college teams competed in the meet, which was divided into three divisions. The Lady Eagles were seeded in the center (Blue) division based on their success in previous meets this season. It proved to be a monumental task competing with many NCAA DII schools and even a few NCAA DI teams.
The AU women ran well but finished 39
th out of 47 teams in the Blue race. Gassmann placed 54
th out of 416 finishers in the race. She was followed across the finish line by captain
Brooke O'Carroll, who ran a 25:15 to take nearly a minute off of her previous best time for 6K set a year ago in the CCS Championship meet. That time moves her to fifth on the Asbury All-Time list for 6000 meters.
Emma Groff,
Emma Le Duc, and
Michele Burgess filled the remaining three scoring positions for the Asbury women's cross country team.
The men's race included 98 men's teams competing in the meet, and the Eagles were placed in the small (Silver) division, where they finished 12
th out of 25 teams. Following his sister's example, freshman
Jesse Gassmann led the way for the Eagles, placing 50th out of 237 runners with a new personal-best time of 27:46.4 for 8000 meters (5 miles).
Gassmann topped his father's (Justin Gassmann) best time ever by 6/10th of a second in the race. He ran 27:46.4, while in 1998, his father ran 27:47 in the NCCAA National Championship meet at John Bryant State Park in Ohio.
A few seconds back from Gassmann in 55
th place was senior captain
Dan Kersey. Freshman
Noah Smith was next in for the Eagles with a new personal-best of 28:28. Jojo Earnst and
Josh Rittgers rounded out the scoring positions for the team.
Men's Results
Women's Results
"It's fun to compete in races like these. Generally, we compete in the division with smaller schools at this meet, but it was good for our ladies to be selected for the tougher race. Over 400 competitors running together makes for a really crowded course, but it pushed us to some really good times. It was exciting for Bailey to top Katy's 10-year-old record today. Katy was the only AU runner, men or women, to qualify for the NAIA National Championship four straight years. Taking her name off the record board is a big accomplishment for Bailey."
Randy Crist | Asbury Cross Country Head Coach
The Eagles' next competition is set for October 10 in Maryville, Tenn., at the Maryville Invitational.
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