Mill Spring, N.C. – Highlighted by a first-place scoring tie for the Catamount men's team, the Western Carolina cross country squads posted a pair of top five finishes on Friday at the Tryon Fall Collegiate Invitational, hosted at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, site of next month's Southern Conference Championship meet.
WCU matched Furman with 38 points atop the 14-team men's 8K race, though the Paladins took the tiebreaker, 3-2, to claim the event title based on the individual scoring order of finish. The Catamount women finished fifth out of 12 teams in the 5K competition.
"We had a solid effort for today for both groups," said WCU head coach Jesse Norman. "Our main goal was to run a controlled effort and get some eyes on the new layout of the course. Those goals were accomplished. I'm excited for the group to start their last big block of training to lead into the championship season."
Jaleb Saunders led the way for Western Carolina, placing fourth overall with a time of 26:07.2, followed closely by Matthias Peterson in seventh at 26:08.0.
Eli Clonch continued his strong start to the season with an eighth place showing, clocking in at 26:16.1. Kadin Nance and Bradley White rounded out WCU's scoring five in ninth and 10th, respectively, at 26:16.5 and 26:18.0.
Alexander Ruge was just behind the scoring group, placing 11th with a time of 26:19.1 to give the Catamounts six runners inside the top 11 finishers.
Noah Luke placed 33rd (27:07), followed by Samuel Corso (44th, 27:24.3), Matthew Womack (45th, 27:24.9), Jason Wade (49th, 27:34.1), and Jacob Campbell (65th, 28:10.2). Rounding out the Catamount lineup were Nick Morizio (75th, 28:48.0) and Price Fee (79th, 28:55.9).
On the women's side, the Catamounts finished fifth overall and fourth among the five Southern Conference teams competing. Ashlyn Watkins led WCU, placing 22nd overall with a time of 18:59.7, finishing just one-tenth of a second ahead of teammate Katherine Hopkins, who crossed in 23rd at 18:59.8.
Peyton Skoglund followed in 31st after posting a time of 19:29.8, while Madeline Hladik finished 32nd at 19:32.4. Braelyn-Shae Wahy rounded out WCU's scoring five in 34th in 19:48.0.
Also for the Catamount women, Grace Lane finished 36th (19:54.1), followed by Avery Mays (45th, 20:08.1) and Hannah Kilner (48th, 20:17.3).
Up Next for the Catamounts:
The Catamounts have a few weeks off to prepare before returning to competition at the Upstate Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C. on Oct. 17, in the final event of the 2026 regular season. WCU then returns to Mill Spring, N.C. for the Southern Conference Championships on Oct 31.
