The Kent State cross country team sent four runners to Terre Haute, Indiana, to compete in the Great Lakes Regional meet. Freshman Maddie Dunlap and sophomore Clark Bookman have made headlines all season, but they were just two of the four selected to run. Freshman Nicole Fleming and junior Brandon Avers also toed the line on Friday.

The Flashes looked to gain experience, particularly on the men’s side where they competed in their first 10k of the year. Bookman led the way per usual with a solid 111th (33:21) finish out of 187 competitors. Avers followed closely behind in 120th (33:32).

The men’s team was not scored in the team results due to the fact a team needed to have five competitors run to be scored as a team.  

Maddie Dunlap continued to gain experience in her fourth 6k. She finished 71st (21:59) out of 223. Nicole Fleming finished in 154th (23:22). Both women gained experience they can use to lead the team in the years to come.

They both showed improvement throughout the season, and look to carry some momentum into their first collegiate track season.  

Cross country season is over for the Flashes. The season served as valuable experience not only for the young team, but for the first-year coach Tyler Griffin.

This offseason will be his first crack at recruiting since he was hired this past February. Meaning, many runners had already determined where they would be spending their collegiate careers. 

Ian Krieder is a sports reporter. Contact him a [email protected].