SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Converse had a strong showing at their home meet, the Converse Kick-Off on Saturday morning with the women's team finishing fourth with five new personal records being set while the men came in 10th with two new personal records.  

Head coach Mark Rennix thought the races went well saying, "Our men ran very strong up front and we had several course personal records throughout the team. The women ran a great team race, top to bottom and each of them were faster than they were at this point last season. But as always, we still have a lot to work on and improve, which is exciting."
 
In the men's 8K race, junior Luis Rios Brena and graduate student Alex Sosa led the way, crossing the finish line for the Valkyries, collecting 23^rd and 24^th place finishes with times of 26:10 and 26:11 respectively. Both of those results are faster than they ran at the conference championships last season on the same course. Spenser Kirby also ran a new personal best, finishing as the team's fifth runner with a time of 28:35.
 
Men's Results (10th of 17) 

23. Luis Rios Brena – 26:10 (Course PR)
24. Alex Sosa – 26:11 (2^nd All-Time & Course PR)

84. Dre'Quan Guyton – 27:46 
103. Jaxon Wright – 28:21

107. Spenser Kirby – 28:35 (PR) 

121. Zackery Carver – 29:18

128. Aiden Ayala – 29:42

132. Nathan Lucy – 29:48

138. Samuel Bagwell – 30:32

148. John Garcia – 31:39 (PR)

Top 5 average: 27:26

In the women's 6K race, sophomore Lauren Beatty led the pack and finished 5^th with a time of 22:51. Beatty's time was enough to secure a new PR as was the case for Ashley Sosa, Froukje Mons, Anne van den Broek, and Paisley Stepp.
 
Women's Results (4th of 17)  

5. Lauren Beatty – 22:51 (PR)

17. Ruth Spijker – 23:37

18. Ashley Sosa– 23:37 (PR)

23. Kamille Dixon – 23:58 

37. Froukje Mons – 24:33 (PR)

40. Anne van den Broek – 24:39 (PR)

64. Paisley Stepp – 25:42 (PR)

Top 5 average: 23:44 (New School Record)
 
 
Next UP for the Valkyries
 
Converse will continue to train for the next two weeks with its sights set on the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, September 30^th.