Thursday, September 04, 2008
Former Hopkins County Central runner Ashly Rodgers shook away her freshman jitters on Saturday as she ran in the Mid-America Opener in her first official race as a walk-on at Murray State.
Rodgers placed 47th in a field of 86 runners with a 4K time of 18:01 and even finished ahead of some of Murray’s scholarship runners.
“Nerves definitely played a big part and they ran high, but once I got going I just felt at home like I was comfortable in the race and I ran really strong,” Rodgers said. “It was probably the best run I’ve ever had as far as being competitive.”
Rodgers said her coach’s reaction after the race reinforced her positive feelings.
“He isn’t really big on specific compliments, but I got the nod of approval so that meant a lot,” she said.
Just one race into the season, Rodgers has already accomplished her goal to finish ahead of some of her teammates on scholarship and hopes it will help her quest to attain her own athletic scholarship, she said.
Despite her success, Rodgers said it was difficult as a freshman walk-on to set expectations for the race.
“I was just trying to run strong and basically pace off some of my teammates that I run with in practice and stay up with them,” Rodgers said.
As a team, the Lady Racers finished second behind only Louisville.
Murray’s next race will be a 5K at the Mizzou Cross Country Challenge on Sept. 13 in Columbia, Mo.
Rodgers said 10 female runners will be selected to attend the meet and with her times she considers herself a borderline candidate to travel.
Men’s cross country
Austin Peay senior runner Tim Hall also took part in the Mid-America Opener on Saturday.
Hall, a 2005 North graduate took ninth place overall, leading the Governors in the men’s 6K race with a time of 19:05.
As a team, the Govs finished tied for third-place.
Football
On the gridiron, North grad Blake Boyd finished with nine tackles in Western Kentucky’s 31-13 season-opening loss at Indiana.
The nine takedowns placed Boyd second-best for the Hilltoppers.
Boyd collected six solo tackles and was credited with 2.5 tackles for a loss, including an assist on a sack.
Western will face Eastern Kentucky 5 p.m. Saturday in the 85th edition of the “Battle of the Bluegrass.”
Men’s soccer
Though the soccer season is young, goal keeper Aaron Arndt has already notched a shutout for Centre College.
Arndt, a 2006 North grad, has played in both of Centre’s game this season and started in the team’s season-opener, a 3-0 victory over Muskingum (Ohio) on Aug. 29. During the contest, Arndt collected two saves.
Centre defeated Trine (Ind.) in overtime 1-0 and is now 2-0 on the season.
Women’s soccer
Former North soccer standout Laura Nance scored three goals in Kentucky Wesleyan’s 15-0 season-opening thrashing of Midway College on Aug. 28.
The Panther’s offensive outburst set a new single game record and Nance’s three goals in a game were one short of tying a school record.
Wesleyan continued its winning ways Tuesday with a 1-0 win over North Alabama to improve to 2-0.
The Panthers return to action 12 p.m. Saturday when they will play host to Christian Brothers University (Tenn.) at Panther Field.
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