The Saint Augustine’s Cross Country season has started off on a high note especially, Immanuel Hutchinson, who was named CIAA men’s cross country runner of the week on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The freshman from San Jacinto, CA, topped all CIAA runners with a time 29:01:40 in the 5,000-meter run in the Bulldog Invitational Cross Country Invitational hosted by Barton College in Wilson, NC, on Sept. 11, finishing eight overall.Mylene Cannon held her own on the women’s side in the Bulldog Invitational, posting a 22:09:44 time in her 5K race. Overall, the Junior from Dallas, TX, placed 19th out of 61 runners
Hutchinson and Cannon continued their success on Sept. 26 at the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational at Hagan Stone Park. Hutchinson placed seventh out of 55 male competitors, finishing in 28:34:14 in the 8K race — once again, beating out all 34 CIAA competitors. Cannon finished 22nd out of 60 competitors for The Lady Falcons,, finishing with a time of 21:31:00 — eighth best out of 36 CIAA runners.
Hutchinson has emerged as a star. He won All-America honors, helping the Falcons win their third consecutive NCAA Division II men’s outdoor title and placed fourth nationally in the 800-meter run at the championship meet.
Coach Sandy Chapman praised Cannon’s development. “She is a late blossom being here for two years,” he said. “She is sprouting out and has come back ready to travel with the team this year.”
About halfway through the season, Coach Chapman thinks the team is still improving. “It has been a good start and we need to see where we can work to go further,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out where we fit in with our conference. The closer we are to our competition in conference the better we will pan out for a conference championship”.
But the coach feels strongly about winning a championship. “We want the hardware,” he said.
— Charles Gilchrist
