Men's Cross Country Claims Runner-Up Finish at Charlotte Invitational
Aided by three of the top five, the Mars hill men’s cross country team was the runner-up in the non-Division I portion of the Charlotte Invitational at McAlpine Park in Friday evening.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Aided by three of the top five, the Mars hill men's cross country team was the runner-up in the non-Division I portion of the Charlotte Invitational at McAlpine Park Friday evening. The Lions were the highest-finishing Southeast Region team and also set the school record for the team average time in the 8-K with a new mark of 25:46.78
Junior Alex Griggs finished in second place with an 8-kilometer time of25:09.7. Sophomore Nathan Jones was in Griggs' footsteps, finishing six seconds behind him in 25:15.50. Senior Derek Gibson completed the Mars Hill top five trio in a 25:34.5 fourth-place effort.
Junior Cesar Reyes crossed the line in 15th with a time of 26:22.9, followed by Garrett Farrimond in 19th (26:31.30). A pair of freshmen concluded the Lions' scoring positions in Gil Gilreath's 29th place effort (27:08.4) and Brandon Beard in 33rd (27:21.3).
Other finishers for Mars Hill were Daniel Lerner (28:36.4), Hunter Townsend (29:06.2) Lee Johnson (29:22.10), Chase Shermer (29:36) and Nathan Wheeler (29:46.5).
Tennessee Wesleyan's Joseph Mullen was the winner as he finished in 25:03.7. Mullen and Bulldog teammates finished with a team score of 36, narrowly edging the Lions' mark of 43. UNC Pembroke (75) completed the podium.
Mars Hill returns to Charlotte for their next race, competing in the Royals XC Challenge hosted by Queens on October 11.
