Cross Country | 9/24/2021 6:42:00 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Methodist's
Drew Topoly raced to a 21st-place finish Friday in the men's 8-kilometer event at the 2021 Queen City Invite, helping the Monarch men's cross country squad to a 16th-place finish out of 34 teams at McAlpine Creek Park.
Topoly's time of 24 minutes, 55 seconds -- third-fastest in Methodist program history -- earned a top-25 finish within a field of NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA runners that made up the field of 310 racers.
In the women's five-kilometer event, Methodist's
Caroline Stubblefield was 170th of 262 in the field, crossing the line with a time of 22:04.
Milligan (Tenn.) University, No. 6 in the NAIA national rankings, captured the men's title with 33 points, while host Queens University (D-II) was second with 75 points. Methodist -- the top-finishing D-III team -- totaled 444 points.
Helping Topoly lead the Monarchs to their top-20 finish were
Xavier McLamb (100th place, 26:34),
Noah Carter (106th, 26:39),
Will Gray (135th, 26:58) and
Austin Ezzell (193rd, 28:24).
Milligan's women, No. 2 in the NAIA, won the women's 5K race with 58 points, beating out second-place Anderson (S.C.) University (D-II) by 25 points.
Representing the Methodist women with Stubblefield was
Madison Pompey, who was 203rd in a time of 23:27.
Methodist's next meet will be right back at McAlpine Creek Park as the Monarchs will participate in the (Queens) Royal Challenge on Friday, October 8.
