Cross Country | 9/27/2019 8:49:00 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Methodist's men's and women's cross country teams traveled West on Friday to participate in one of the larger cross country meets on the East Coast, placing 19th of 42 teams in the men's eight-kilometer race and 33rd of 39 teams in the women's five-kilometer event at the Queen City Invite.
Both Monarch teams were the highest placing Division III teams in their respective fields that included D-I, -II, -III and NAIA squads.
Augusta University captured the men's team title with 21 points, and James Madison University nabbed the women's title with 41 points.
Mathew Chesum of Benedict (S.C.) College raced to the men's individual crown with a winning time of 24 minutes, 36 seconds.
In the women's 5K it was Micah Weathers of Augusta at the front of the pack, crossing the finish in a time of 18:01.
JUST THE FACTS
Event: Queen City Invite
Course: 8K and 5K at McAlpine Creek Park; Charlotte, N.C.
Men's 8K team results, top 3: 1 – Augsuta (21 points), 2– Milligan (Tenn.) College (89 pts.), 3– Flagler (Fla.) College (109 pts.); 19 – Methodist (556 pts.)
Men's 8K individual results, Methodist scoring runners: 64 –
Andrew Topoly (26:51), 84 –
Cameron Adair (27:29), 128 –
Jonathan Wertz (28:16), 162 –
Connor Ayers (29:05), 210 –
Baron Gossman (30:26)
Women's 5K team results, top 3: 1 – James Madison (41 pts.), 2 – Milligan (86 pts.), 3 – College of Charleston (165 pts.); 33 – Methodist (940 pts.)
Women's 5K individual results, Methodist scoring runners: 119 –
Courtney Drumm (20:38), 224 –
Olivia Mague (24:15), 257 –
Ally Mattera (26:16), 262 –
Clarece Krause (26:53), 271 –
Jessica Womble (27:31)
RACE NOTES
- Four USA South Athletic Conference squads ran in the men's race, with N.C. Wesleyan falling in right behind the Monarchs in a 20th-place finish, while Brevard College and William Peace University finished 31st and 35th, respectively.
- Methodist and N.C. Wesleyan were the only USA South teams running in the women's event. The Battling Bishops finished in 34th place.
- There were 327 runners in the men's 8K, and 316 runners in the women's 5K.
- The scoring gap between Methodist's first and fifth runners in the men's 8K was just 3 minutes and 35 seconds, a remarkably low figure given the number of runners and the cross section of different divisions in the field.
- Drumm raced away from her teammates in the women's event, but the remaining four scorers were just 3 minutes and 16 seconds apart, again, a narrow gap given the same circumstances as with the men's large field.
UP NEXT
Methodist will travel to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for their next outing, participating in the Disney Cross Country Classic on Saturday, October 12.
