HAYS — Allen Community College’s cross country squads didn’t run poorly Saturday morning, their head coach noted.
“But we didn’t run well, either,” said Vince DeGrado.
As a result both Allen men’s and women’s teams finished behind other Region VI schools at Saturday’s Fort Hays State Tiger Open.
The Red Devil men finished seventh overall, averaging 25 minutes, 43 seconds for their 8k run. The time was notably slower than Region VI rival Colby’s average of 25:17. Colby finished fourth among the men’s teams.
“I guess if there’s a silver lining, it’s that this occurred now and not in two weeks,” DeGrado said.
The women, spearheaded by Denae McGee’s school record 18:41.21 in her 5k run, finished 15th — behind Region VI schools Hutchinson, Butler County and Dodge City.
The Red Devil men were paced by Brandon Bernal, who finished 25th overall at 25:13.2, and Dallas Snider in 30th at 25:22.0.
The pace for the Red Devil runners was similar to what Allen experienced at the Region VI and Jayhawk Conference Meet a year ago, DeGrado said.
“We started out too quickly, but we faded down the stretch, and other teams just kept up the pressure and passed us,” he said. “That’s what Colby did Saturday. They didn’t just beat us, they took it to us.”
The experience should give Allen’s runners plenty of impetus to regroup and focus on improvement at the regional meet Oct. 28 in Hutchinson.
“We just need to get better,” he said.
Fort Hays State Tiger Open
Women (5k)
20. Denae McGee, 18:41.21
108. Alisn Stevens, 21:05.58
