Charlotte, N.C. – The Western Carolina men's and women's cross country teams both finished in seventh place on a hot afternoon during the Queen City Invite on Friday at McAlpine Park.
“I feel like we did a good job of competing tonight,” head coach Jesse Norman said. “It was really hot, being over 90 degrees at the start of both races. Placing in the top ten at this meet with over 40 teams is a good step for us. I feel like after the last couple weeks of high training that our student-athletes responded well and I'm excited to see what we do at ECU.”
Senior Lindsey Trotter was the top finishing Catamount for the second meet this season as she navigated the 5K course with a time of 18:35 to finish in 14th place. Sophomore Kate Mattison scored an 18th-place result with a finishing time of 18:41. Sophomore Siena Gates finished in 28th place as she finished with a time of 18:51. Senior Shawnda Martin was the final Catamount to finish under the 20-minute mark as she scored a 64th-place result with her time of 19:41. Sophomore Jamie Blaylock finished with a time of 20:25 followed by classmate Caroline Schoessow with a time of 20:47. Junior Kayla Deaton completed the event in 20:56. Freshman Maggie Klemm had a finishing time of 21:07 with freshman Lauren Esselborn coming around the course with a time of 22:20.
Senior Isaiah Hanna led the men's team as he finished the 8K course in 26:06 for 23rd place. Senior Tyler Robakiewicz finished in 25th place with a time of 26:08. Freshman Fletcher Bost placed 46th with a time of 26:37. Senior Terry Young finished 82nd, finishing the race in 27:24 followed by classmate Justin Tucker in 90th with a final time of 27:32. Freshman Andrew Edney crossed the finish line with a final time of 28:11. Junior Tyler White navigated the course with a time of 29:18. Sophomore Fuad Hassan was the next WCU finisher in 29:36 with fellow sophomore Elijah Stuart completing the race in 30:24.
Augusta University's Micah Weathers was the women's winner with a top time of 18:01. James Madison won the women's team standings with a score of 41. Matthew Chesum of Benedict College won a tightly contested men's race with a time of 24:36 as the top three finishers were within one second of each other. Augusta University took first place in the men's race with 21 points.
Western Carolina returns to the course on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Pirate Invitational in Greenville, N.C.
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