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Holmes Leads Bears at Chile Pepper Festival

Waco native ran a personal-best time in the 5,000-meter race.
Posted at 10:07 PM, Oct 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-05 23:07:30-04

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Celia Holmes recorded a personal-best 5K by nearly a full minute to finish 37th and lead Baylor cross country Saturday morning at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Waco native in her sophomore season clocked in at 17:32.5 in the 5,000-meter race to cruise past her previous personal best (18:29.1) and lead the Bears to a top-10 team finish.

“Celia did a good job,” Baylor associate head coach Jon Capron said. “She stayed within where she needed to be at first, and it really paid off. She was able to move a lot better during this race than in races past. I think she got really comfortable, and it was nice that she finally had her legs underneath her. It’s something that I’ve been telling her is coming, so it was nice to get proof.”

Gabby Satterlee continued her strong start to the season with a time of 17:51.1 to finish in 58th place. Haley Everroad (18:13.5), Hana Marsheck (18:29.0) and Chloe Gangnath (18:35.3) all recorded personal bests to complete the scoring for Baylor.

“I thought the girls did a good job executing and fighting over the course of the race,” Capron said. “I think they still have much faster in them, but it was good to put something on paper today. There were kind of mixed results on who was happy with their race and who wasn’t, but with the ones that weren’t happy I think we can figure it out.”

In the men’s race, TJ Sugg led the Bears for the second consecutive meet, running an 8,000-meter time of 25:10.2 to finish in 66th place. Ryan Hodge was right behind in 75th (25:17.7), followed by Connor Laktasic in 99th (25:32.9). Ryan Day (26:13.7) and Cal Johnston (26:25.7) both recorded personal-best 8Ks to round out the scoring for Baylor.

“They were all kind of close to being happy with their races,” Capron said. “None of them were really pleased, but they’re all a lot closer than they were. It’s not an easy course by any means, so I think it will be fun to come back to the A&M course a couple weeks later to see how far we’ve come. I was happy to get Ryan Day in there, and I think Cal has more in him. All of those guys can run faster, so we’re excited to see where they’re headed. We’re not there yet.”

Up next, the Bears head to the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 19 in College Station, the last stop before the Bears host the Big 12 Championships on Nov. 2 at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.

“We’re comfortable but not satisfied,” Capron said. “I know where we’re going, but we’re definitely not there yet. We need to get there pretty quickly. The end of the season is coming, but that’s when we’re supposed to be at our best. If we’re not there yet, it gives us some space to get there.”

For updates on Baylor cross country throughout the season, follow @BaylorTrack on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Baylor Women’s Results
37. Celia Holmes - 17:32.5
58. Gabby Satterlee - 17:51.1
86. Haley Everroad - 18:13.5
106. Hana Marsheck - 18:29.0
116. Chloe Gangnath - 18:35.3

Baylor Men’s Results
66. TJ Sugg - 25:10.2
75. Ryan Hodge - 25:17.7
99. Connor Laktasic - 25:32.9
161. Ryan Day - 26:13.7
180. Cal Johnston - 26:25.7