Gaston College cross country enters 2024 with talented roster and championship aspirations

When Gaston College began its athletic program in the 2021-22 school year, women's cross country was the first team to compete in an event.

Now preparing for its fourth year, the Rhinos' cross country program of third-year head coach Kody Kubbs is poised to set program history with a National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 championship.

Not only has two-time defending champion and perennial power Spartanburg Methodist left Region 10 to become a four-year school but Gaston College has what Kubbs calls his "most talented" roster.

"I'm definitely excited about where we're at," Kubbs said. "We've got the most talented group that we've had to date. And we've got a group of talented, dedicated runners."

Sophomore returnees Keirieonna Wilson, Abigail Harris, Alayna Cook, Abbygale King are joined by freshman newcomers Lexi Birtwistle, Maddie Frank and Sara Scoggins.

Wilson returns after finishing as team medalist in each meet she competed in and capped by a third-place overall finish in the 2023 Region 10 championships as the Rhinos finished as runner-up to Spartanburg Methodist; Harris finished 13th overall, Cook 16th and King 18th.

Meanwhile, newcomers Frank and Birtwistle are the last two Gaston County high school cross country champions - Birtwistle in 2022 and Frank in 2023.

More importantly, each had run for Kubbs when he coached at South Point High School before he became Rhinos' head coach in 2022.

"It was really fun when I ran for coach Kubbs," said Birtwistle, a four-sport (volleyball, cross country, basketball, soccer) standout at South Point. "I'm looking forward to running for him again."

Frank, a cross country and basketball standout at South Point, agreed.

"Coach Kubbs coached me for a year and I really enjoyed it," Frank said. "That's the reason I was interested in coming here."

Frank recognizes her new team will have high goals.

"We want to win but we also want to focus on getting better and improving throughout the season," Frank said.

Kubbs expects Wilson to be the team's top runner after she finished 85th in the NJCAA national championships last year at Huntsville, Ala.

"I'm very impressed with the miles the team has been putting in and the effort they bring day-to-day," Kubbs said. "Wilson is the No. 1 runner with Maddie and Lexi will fight it out for Nos. 2 and 3 and then we've got King and Harris right behind them."

Currently with a seven-runner roster, Kubbs begins a daunting schedule at Pfeiffer University on Saturday.

"Obviously the top five score so we've got to keep everybody healthy," Kubbs said. "And we've got a tough schedule. We start at Pfeiffer and then we go to Cleveland (Community College) to get a preview for the Region 10 race. Then the Royals Challenge (at Charlotte's Queens University) will be loaded with top-end talent. I'm really excited about the opportunity our ladies will have that week.
"And then we go back to Upstate before the Region 10 championships."

Here's the Gaston College 2024 cross country schedule:

Sat. 14 Pfeiffer University XC Invitational

Sept. 21 Yeti Invitational at Shelby

Oct. 11 Queens Royals Challenge at Charlotte

Oct. 19 USC Upstate Invitational at Spartanburg, S.C.

Oct. 26 Region 10 Championships at Cleveland CC course (Shelby)

Nov. 9 NJCAA National Championships (Richmond, Va.)