Results
HARDEEVILLE, S.C. (Oct. 12) – Behind a trio of runners in the top 15 overall on Saturday morning, the Trojans produced a fourth-place finish at the Sand Shark Invitational hosted at Sergeant Jasper Park by USC Beaufort.
The University of Mount Olive men's cross country program totaled 85 points to place just two points outside the top three in the team standings. Converse claimed the team championship with 27 points behind all five scoring runners in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard. Winthrop finished second overall with 53 points and featured the individual winner, while Southeastern (Fla.) placed third with 83 points.
Senior
Aman Tsegay paced the Trojans for a consecutive race and delivered an impressive eighth-place finish after crossing the line in 26 minutes, 11.6 seconds while competing in the eight-kilometer race. On Saturday, he registered a 5:16.2 average mile in a field of 115-plus runners.
Fellow senior
Riley Willcox posted a time of 26:40.4 to finish 12th on the leaderboard while recording an average mile of 5:22. Freshman
Ayden Thompson continued his strong first collegiate season with the program after recording a time of 26.44.9 to place 15th overall. Sophomore
Josh Hendren registered a career-best time of 27:08.8 to finish 24th, while sophomore
Evan Hall was seven places back in 31st after crossing the line in 27:33.
Senior
Richard Villafranco placed 37th overall with a time of 27:41.1 behind an average mile mark of 5:34.2. Freshman
James Cabrera delivered a season-best time of 27:54 to finish 42nd while freshman
Titus Tanui crossed the line 54th with a season-best mark of 28:19.4. Additionally, sophomore
Devon Coughlin (70th, 29:34.8), freshman
Cullen Pfanmiller (77th, 30:00.5), and freshman
Adam Hill (102nd, 35:26.9) competed in the race.
Winthrop junior Daren Hinds captured individual medalist honors by 47.7 seconds after crossing the line in 24:57.4.
The Trojans return to action on Friday, Oct. 18, to compete at the Elon Phoenix XC Invite hosted at the Elon Cross Country Course.
