Cross country teams take first place in season opener

ETSU’s men’s and women’s cross country teams both placed first at their opening race of the season at the Newberry Invitational in Newberry, South Carolina, on Oct. 30.  

“I was expecting for everyone to have a good time because we haven’t raced in eight months, and it was nice to get out there and get a race in,” said head coach George Watts. “Going into it, I thought we had a chance to win… I thought that we had a chance to have the individual winners as well.” 

Junior Lindsey Stallworth (Knoxville, Tennessee) took first place for an individual win for the women’s team. Senior Matt Scarr (Wamberal, New South Wales, Australia) also took first place for an individual win for the men’s team. 

“Getting out and running, and winning, and having individual winners meant that we’ve been doing something right during the fall and training because both the individual winners won by quite a bit,” Watts said. “Having a dominating performance by them was kind of a nice thing to see.”

This race was the first of the season for the cross country athletes, but for Stallworth, it was more important. It was her first race back after an injury, as well as after having to take more time off because of the fall cancellation of the season due to COVID-19.

Stallworth proved her resilience by returning to the competitive atmosphere with not only a team win, but also placing first individually.

“It felt good,” Stallworth said. “I’d say for not having raced in such a long time, it’s a good starting point. It definitely felt good to get out and compete and get into that mindset again. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but overall, I’d say it was a good day and I’m satisfied with it.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams have their second and final meet of the spring season on Nov. 21, as they race the Southern Conference Championship in Macon, Georgia. 

“I’m expecting our team to go out and compete as hard as we can and give it everything,” Stallworth said. “I know that we’re all still itching to race. Newberry is great, but we want more. We are ready to get out and utilize all the work we put in over the summer and fall.”