CLINTON - The Millsaps Cross Country team returned to Choctaw Trails in Clinton this past Saturday for an impressive overall performance and a couple of breakthrough races.

"The meet will give us a lot of momentum as we head into the conference championships," says Head Coach Andy Till. "Our runners are starting to really learn how to race at Choctaw Trails."

Junior Sara Sacks led Millsaps and achieved a new personal record of 20:01. Sophomore Melinda Solomon followed closely with a new personal record of 20:28, and junior Haley Brown finished right on their tail.

"Sara got out strong and ran a great race.  She put more into the first mile and it paid off," explained Till. "Haley, Melinda, and Sara have been very consistent all season and each girl is ready for anything that might come her way at conference."  

Junior Laney Lennox and sophomore Susan Fasano both stepped up big time at this race with great times on the afternoon.

"They worked together and ran near perfect splits." added Till.

Overall, the girl's team decreased their average time by 30 seconds from the Rhodes meet in Memphis two weeks ago.

On the men's team, freshman Jared Allen set a new course personal record with a time of 27:32 coming in seventh place out of the non-division one schools. Sophomore Sam Martin made a strong commitment to the race at mile two which Till says "made the difference" in his race.

Freshman Konstantine Baizat showed a lot of heart during his race and was awarded the arête singlet that comes to each runner with a breakthrough accomplishment. "Our men made a better effort to race as a pack today," Till continues, "but we still have some work to do."

The two teams are back in action on October 27th as they will compete at the Southern Athletic Association Championships at Choctaw Trails. The run is set to get going at 9:15 a.m.