CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern senior Jessie Dotson posted a season-best time of 20:17.87 to win top individual honors at the Will Wilson Cross Country Invitational on Saturday at James Island County Park.
Team Results
Dotson breezed to the win by defeating her closest competitor, Grace Jenkins of The Citadel, by more than 13 seconds. The Bucs' veteran leader paced a strong team effort that placed them second in the field, behind only The Citadel.
"At the beginning of the race, the girl from The Citadel took off but I had the confidence I was going to be able to pass her and I passed her after the first mile," Dotson said afterward. "My goal was just to stay in front and not let her pass and come out with the win today and I was able to do that."
Dotson's teammates, Kaitlyn Keene and Hannah Palm, also capped a strong first half of the season with third and seventh place finishes. Keene, a sophomore, ran in 21:05.82. Palm, a junior who led the Bucs at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, crossed the finish line in 21:37.22
CSU freshmen Traci Drayton and Malaysia Reed made strides forward as well, placing 20th and 22nd in the field. CSU assistant coach for distance and jumps, Sirena Williams, was pleased with her squad's effort. The Bucs' 49 points were good for second place, behind The Citadel's 25 points.
"I definitely saw a competitive nature that we've been working on in practice," Williams said. "Just being competitive and as consistent as we can be within each mile (is important). I saw a lot more togetherness as well as far as a team effort goes with trying to score higher. There were a lot of positives today."
The Bucs begin the back half of their schedule next Saturday at the Big South Cross Country Preview Meet, hosted by USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C.
