Season ends with impressive performance from freshman
She might be young, but South Carolina freshman Kayla Lampe has already made her mark on Gamecock cross country history, finishing eighth this weekend at the Southeast Regionals, the highest place ever for a USC freshman at the event.
A Pennsylvania native, Lampe was in sixth place heading down the stretch, but was passed by two runners before the finish, putting her at the eighth spot out of 255 runners. She will wait this week for the NCAA at-large selections to be announced to see if she qualifies for next week’s NCAA meet in Louisville, Ky.
The team finished 10th overall out of 37 teams at the Southeast meet, which took place at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C. This year’s finish was the team’s best since its 1994 ninth-place standing, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the NCAA Championships. Though the Gamecocks’ season came to an end Saturday, coach Stan Rosenthal was pleased with the way his team ran, and was particularly happy with Lampe’s race.
“They did really well today,” Rosenthal said. “We were ranked ninth in the region coming in, but 10th is still really good. It’s the highest finish we’ve had in a really, really long time. Kayla Lampe was awesome. She started out with the front pack and stayed with it when the pack broke down. It was an awesome race. The other girls fought hard, and it was a really great effort.”
The meet was won by Duke University, which placed four runners in the top 20 to claim first place. William and Mary and North Carolina State took second and third, respectively. The second Gamecock to cross the finish line after Lampe was senior Chelsea France, who placed 32nd. Junior Penny Boswell, freshman Mary Fouse and sophomore Meredith Mill all finished in the top 100. Four of South Carolina’s runners recorded personal records, led by Lampe.
“My strategy going into [Saturday] was to just stay with that top pack and get out fast,” Lampe said. “I just wanted to hold my place and try to stay in the top 12. I think I definitely exceeded those expectations.”
Lampe also was encouraged by the fact that the team had gradually improved as the season went on, and she expressed confidence that her team would only improve next season with everyone, except French, returning to the team and more solid freshmen coming in.
“We’ve been really strong this year,” she said. “We’re getting a lot of freshmen coming in this year and next year, so this year is really like a building year, and I think we’re just going to get better each year, and things are really looking up for our team in the future.”