MEN'S RESULTS

WOMEN'S RESULTS

HARDEEVILLE, SC - The Montreat College cross country teams traveled to the Low Country on Saturday to compete in the 2016 Asics Sandshark Invitational. The event, hosted by USC-Beaufort featured a number of top NAIA and NCAA Division II programs. 

The men's team had a strong effort, finishing 8th out of 23 teams. The Cavaliers were led by Brien Lancaster (JR/Jacksonville, NC), who cracked the top-10 overall by finishing 9th in the field of 216 runners in a time of 25:36.48. Freshman Jacob Parker (FR/Elkin, NC) had a breakthrough race and was the second fisher for the team, placing 40th with a time of 26:38.86. Teammate Rylan Hincher (SO/North Wilkesboro, NC) was close behind, placing 45th in 26:42.76. Holden Dixon (SO/Chocowinity, NC) had his second-straight personal best performance, placing 67th with a time of 27:16.60. Brandon Welborn (JR/Traphill, NC) rounded out the top-five for the men, placing 85th with a time of 27:39.10. Darius Futrell (FR/Richlands, NC) spent the first three miles of the race in the top-30 but fell ill in the fourth mile and held on to place 88th with a time of 27:44.04. Frank Bartholow (FR/Lexington, NC) was seventh for the team, placing 100th overall with a time of 28:05.47.

"I thought we had an up-and-down day today," said head coach Jason Lewkowicz. "We had some great performances up front but the gap to the back part of the top-five was too great and it cost us in the team standings. I thought Brien ran a smart race and positioned himself well. Jacob really stepped up today and ran to his great potential and that is a great sign because we will need him to maintain that level going forward. Darius was putting an amazing race together but fell ill a little over halfway. That was frustrating for him but it happens sometimes. Even though we had a top-8 team performance, the guys are not happy and that is a good thing as we set our sights on the upcoming AAC Championships. If we can have everyone lock in and run their best, I believe we can do something special."

The Montreat women placed 17th out of 27 teams in the talent-rich compeititon. Madeline Sides (FR/Denver, NC) had her best performance of the season, placing 77th overall out of 244 runners in 20:16.59. Alona Kosenko (JR/Charlotte, NC) had another strong effort, finishing 100th with a time of 20:48.27. Kelly Norton (FR/Murray, KY) placed 117th with a time of 21:02.21 while Salena Gonzalez ran to a time of 21:17.65 in her season debut. MiKayla Poulter (JR/Hickory, NC) had her second straight race with a personal best time, finishing the 5k course in 21:31.92 while Ryleigh Mahaffee (FR/Greer, SC) rounded out the top seven with a time of 22:17.54. Abigail Chevalier (JR/Swanton, VT) also set a new personal best with a time of 23:43.95.

"I was proud of how the ladies came out and competed today," said Lewkowicz. "With Isabel (Salinas) not racng today, we needed someone to step up and lead the way and Maddie did just that. Alona and Kelly ran consistent races for us and MiKayla continues to show great improvement. It was great to see Salena and Ryleigh get to finally compete as they've been working their way back from injuries and I was happy to see Abbey get a new personal best. She works very hard and is one of our team leaders. I look forward to getting this group healthy and ready for the AAC meet in two weeks."

The Cavaliers will now prepare to host the 2016 Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships, which will take place on the Black Mountain Campus on Saturday, November 5th beginning at 10:30am. The meet will also serve as the qualifying race for the 2016 NAIA National Championships.