Results

GREENVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 4) – In a field of 19 Division I programs, the University of Mount Olive men's cross country program registered an 19th-place finish at the Pirate Invitational hosted by East Carolina at Overton's Lake Kristi on Friday morning.

The Trojans finished 19th overall in the team standings with 546 points while featuring 10 runners at the event. William & Mary captured the team title after scoring 82 points behind three individuals in the top-15 overall. George Mason placed second overall just two points back with 84 and featured the individual champion. American rounded out the top three programs in the team standings with 95 points while two runners finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard.

Senior Aman Tsegay led Mount Olive with a career-best time of 25 minutes, 52.1 seconds over the eight-kilometer race to place 108th overall in a field that featured over 200 competitors. He has paced the Trojans in two of three races this season with four events remaining on the schedule.

Fellow senior Riley Willcox crossed the line with a time of 26:22.8 to finish second for UMO and place 141th overall. Freshman Ayden Thompson recorded a season-best time of 26:39.0 in his third collegiate race and finished 156th on Friday. Junior Josh Hendren delivered a career-best mark over the eight-kilometer race after crossing the line in 27:26.0 to place 184th overall. Senior Richard Villafranco rounded out the team scorers in 197th with a time of 28:15.8.

Sophomore Evan Hall crossed the line at 28:36.7 to finish 201st while two positions back freshman James Cabrera placed 203rd overall with a season-best mark of 28:40.2. Additionally, freshman Titus Tanui (206th, 29:16.7), sophomore Devon Coughlin (209th, 29:57.0), and freshman Cullen Pfanmiller (210th, 30:11.0) competed in the race.

George Mason graduate student Wesley Bond claimed medalist honors by 1.9 seconds with a final time of 23:38.9.

Mount Olive returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 12, to compete at the Sand Shark Invitational hosted in Hardeeville, South Carolina.