MARYVILLE, TN - The NC Wesleyan College men's cross country team finished in 5th place out of 12 teams at the USA South Conference meet on Friday afternoon. It was the best finish in school history for the men. 

The Bishops totaled 167 points to finish behind 3rd place Methodist and 4th place Piedmont while Berea College (Ky.) dominated the competition finishing with 5 of the top 6 runners in the 8K race. 

"Today's course was extremely wet and muddy, as the night prior there was a hard rain," said Head Coach Marshall Leonard. "This was the stereotypical Cross Country race where runners were muddy after the race.  And I love these types of races.  Races like these puts everyone on an equal playing field, as the conditions are difficult, and each runner sees who is willing to compete the hardest."  

Sophomore Christian Tippette led the Bishops with his 20th place finish as he ran a time of 28:28 to make the all-conference third team, the first time since 1982 that a runner placed on an all-conference team. Wesleyan freshman Terenthen Parker then ran second on the team and 38th overall with his time of 30:00 flat. Parker was also named to the Conference All-Sportsmanship team as well.

Fellow freshman Thomas Guadelupe-Johnson then came next on the team with his 41st place finish overall in 30:11 while freshman Connor Hayes was 45th in 30:23. Freshman Jeshon Smoth then completed the scoring for the Bishops finishing in 57th place and 5th on the team in 32:08.

Also competing for the Bishops was freshman Keyonte Williams running a time of 32:49 to place 63rd while sophomore Tyler Bird was 79th in 36:10. Freshman Justin Nickle also finished in 40:59 while Brandon Hester was in 41:20.

Leonard commented that Tippette is the first runner to be recognized as an All Conference runner since Hall of Famer Wallace Johnson from 1982. 

"Christian got out and competed with the top runners in our conference from the start of the race, and he set the tone for others on the team to follow," said Leonard.  "Not far behind him was Terenthen Parker who ran a great race, and worked closely with Thomas, as they fed off each others energy for the 5 mile race.  This was a great performance from all the guys.  The times do not represent how good they ran at the championships, because of the conditions. These guys started off competing from the start of the gun and did not let up until they crossed the line. That made me proud and excited about our future."

"But what made me the most proud to be the coach of this men's and women's team, was how they treated and interacted with their rival teams and coaches," said Leonard. "Our runners showed support and compassion for other runners throughout the day, and congratulated the rival opponents at the end of the race.  They represented themselves and our school in a way that would make every administrator, student, and alumni proud to be associated with this group of athletes."

Individually, Berea's Tanner Carson won the meet as he finished the 8,000-meter course first in a time of 26:24

Next race is Nov 10th at the NCAA Regional Championships, and this will be the 1st time in NC Wesleyan's history that the cross country team will run at the NCAA Tournament.  

"We are excited to have a chance to go and represent our school at NCAAs and we hope to continue our progress as individuals and as a program."  

2018 USA South Men's Cross Country Team Results: