HICKORY, N.C. — Catawba Valley Community College announces its first four signees to the new cross-country program.
Among the signees are the program’s first-ever runner — Bandys’ Allison Beard — along with local products in Foard’s Ryan Eblen and Nick Shull and East Burke’s Jonathan Garcia.
“I'm excited for our local students to have the opportunity to compete for a collegiate championship,” said Red Hawk cross-country head coach Shawn Fountain. “I am grateful they chose CVCC as their first step towards lifelong success.”
Beard was a member of the Trojans’ 4x800 track & field team, which was a fifth-place state finish this year. She can run the 1600-meter in 6:40.
An all-conference runner at East Burke, Garcia was also the Most Valuable Offensive player on the East Burke soccer team. His PR for the 5K is 19:39.
Elben’s best 1600-meter run time is 5:15, while Shell’s high mark in mile is 5:43.
The Red Hawk cross-country team will be competing starting this fall in Region 10 Division III competition.
For more information on the new cross-country program at CVCC, please contact head coach Shawn Fountain at 828-327-7000 ext. 4463 or email sfountain@cvcc.edu.