SALISBURY, N.C.  Racing for the final time before the conference championship meet, the Methodist men's and women's cross country teams competed at Livingstone College on Friday morning.
 
Four Monarchs on the men's side finished in the top 10, earning the Methodist men's team a second–place finish out of seven teams. The women's team garnered fourth place out of five schools, while runners on both teams reached new heights by recording career–low times.

THE ESSENTIALS
Event: Livingstone XC Invitational (5K women, 8K men)
Location: Salisbury, North Carolina
Top teams, men: 1 – Livingstone (38 pts.), 2 – Methodist (48 pts.), 3 – Johnson C. Smith (68 pts.)
Top individuals, men: 1 – Brandon Jeffers, Livingstone (26:57.70), 2 – Jack Barriger, Methodist (27:07.91), 3 – Rafael Shilengitha, Methodist (27:37.48)
Top teams, women: 1 – Winston–Salem St. (15 pts.), 2 – Bluefield St. (65 pts.), 3 – Johnson C. Smith (74 pts.)
Top individuals, women: 1 – Elicia Bryant, Winston–Salem St. (20:08.05), 2 – Jaiyah Nelson, Winston–Salem St. (20:52.66), 3 – Tinasia Davis, Winston–Salem St. (21:14.99)

MONARCH MEN

• A trio of Monarchs recorded a 2–3–4 finish. Jack Barriger (27:07.91) was the race runner–up, smashing his previous PR by over 30 seconds. Rafael Shilengitha also topped his PR by 30 seconds, finishing third with a time of 27:37.48. Taking fourth, Logan Williams surpassed his previous PR by almost 40 seconds, recording a time of 27:44.64.
• Freshman Jadon Triola claimed ninth place, earning a time of 29:58.34. The final scorer for Methodist was Komla Akogo (39:51.14), who placed 33rd. Both Triola and Akogo set PRs.
• Taking 36th and 38th, Damian Jefferson (40:27.16) and Alex Fritz (42:06.84) rounded out the Methodist men's side. Jefferson shaved off over two minutes from his previous 8k best, while Fritz improved by nearly three minutes.

MONARCH WOMEN

• Emma Wilson was once again the top Monarch on the women's side, finishing in 12th with a time of 22:37.86. That eclipsed her previous PR by more than two minutes.
• Topping her previous best by nearly two minutes, Treazure Rosario Watson (25:05.60) took 19th place. Close behind were Niya Johnson (25:38.17) in 22nd and Sedajah Law (25:55.52) in 23rd. Johnson improved upon her previous best by more than three minutes, while Law took more than four minutes off her previous PR.
• Imani Kee (26:56.93) and Alyssa Cervantes (28:28.12) were the final Monarchs to cross, finishing in 26th and 28th respectively. Both shaved over two minutes from their previous bests.

UP NEXT
The Monarchs have three weeks to prepare for the USA South Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2. The conference event will be hosted by North Carolina Wesleyan University in Rocky Mount, and will begin at 10 a.m.