The men and women’s cross country teams both finished second at the 2018 Cross-Country CIAA Championships, which were held at Green Hill Park in Roanoke Valley, VA., on Oct. 25.
After the last 5K race at the championships, there were cries of “Thank God, it’s over!” from some runner. Coach Sandy Chapman was not surprised by the Lady Falcons’ successful season. “The team had a great potential to win this year,” Coach Chapman said.
The Lady Falcons were led all season by Amanda Crawford (Sr./Brooklyn, NY), Shannon Kalawan (So./Westmoreland, Jamaica) and Florence Field (So./St. Michaels, Barbados). Crawford, two-time Athlete of the Week this year, won top 15 All-CIAA honors placing 4th in 20:29.3.
“The season went better than last year,” Crawford said. “Even though I wasn’t planning on running Cross-Country this year, I’m happy about how the season went. It gave me more confidence for track.”
The indoor track and field season kicks off Dec. 2. Crawford was one of the top athletes of last track and field season. The Lady Falcons won the indoor CIAA championship last year and she was one of the top assets of the team.
Field also won top 15 All-CIAA honors, placing 8th with a time of 20:46.7, followed by Kalawan, who took the 20th place in the 5K with a time of 21:44. Kalawan is Saint Augustine’s 2018 400-meter outdoor individual National Champion. Nia Erwin (Sr./Philadelphia, PA) was just behind, in 24th place, running a time of 21:59.7. A’Lexus Wells was 36th with 22:59.3. Davia Smith (Jr./ Jamaica) and Jaria Hoyte (Fr./Barbados), both new freshmen recruits, respectively finished 42nd and 45th with the times of 23:46.6 and 23:48. The Lady Falcons scored 92 points.
The men were led all season by Baron Freeman (So./Hampton, VA) and Robert Edwards (Fr./Pembroke, Bermuda). In the CIAA Championships, they took the team to second place scoring 86 points overall on the 10K. Freeman was recently named the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). He is the first SAU runner in school history to win the prestigious Cross Country honor.
In the championships, he earned All-CIAA honors taking 1st place in the 10k race with a time of 25:52.6. Edwards placed 10th and also earned All-CIAA honors with a time of 28:34.3. Both qualified for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 17
Shaquille Dill (Sr./Pembroke, Bermuda) took 20th place. Right behind him, taking 21st place, was Robert Walker (So./Newburgh, NY) with 30:06.7. Gregory Matthews (So./Mississippi) was 34th with 31:32.3. And Alexander Storr finished 54th with 34:39.8.
Even though most of the runners are now getting ready for the upcoming indoor Track and Field season, Freeman is going to hang in there a little bit more in the Cross-Country season with the Regionals. Edwards preferred to not participate to the Regionals.
“Tough season! It’s my first year in college, first Cross-Country season, I’m proud of myself, but I don’t feel ready yet for a bigger competition like the regionals,” Edwards said.
— Magaly Tshipopo
