CHESTERFIELD, Va. – The NC Wesleyan College Cross Country Team returned to the course on Friday in the Div. II Virginia State Invitational as the only D-3 team competing.
The men's team came away with a strong second place finish out of 6 teams with 55 points just behind host VA St. with 44. Virginia Union finished third followed by Elizabeth City St., Shaw, and Chowan.
The men had finishers of 6th, 7th, 12, 13th, and 17th overall among their top 5 along with two individuals placing 29th and 31st.
"The heat was tough and the course was challenging, but the teams pressed on and performed great against some new competition," said head coach Marshall Leonard. "The other coaches and teams were very nice and showed superior sportsmanship and it will be a race that NC Wesleyan will return to in the future."
Leading the Bishops in 6th overall was freshman Connor Hayes with a time of 28:31 in the 8K while sophomore Christian Tippette was 2nd on the team and 7th overall in 28:39. Freshman Thomas Guadeloupe-Johnson was then third on the team and 12th overall with a time of 30:09. Fellow freshman Terenthen Parker was next right behind Johnson in 13th overall with a time of 30:42. Finishing up the scoring for the Bishops was freshman Keyonte Williams in 17th with a time of 31:41.
Individually, freshman Jeshon Smith was 29th in 35:31 while sophomore Tyler Bird was 31st in 38:48.
"On the guys side we had an excellent showing," Leonard continued. "Connor and Christian moving up on the All Time Cross Country list to the 2nd and 3rd spots. Every runner improved their times from their last race ranging from 1 minute to 3 minutes respectively. Keyonte stepped up and finished as our 5th runner today and helped us secure the 2nd place finish."
The teams are next in action on Sept. 29 at the Greensboro College Invitational.