FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Methodist men's and women's cross-country teams raced in an action-packed field Friday afternoon at the Downback Invitational. The meet included teams from NCAA Division-II and Division-III, along with one team from the NJCAA as the Monarch men and women both finished third in their respective meets.
 
THE ESSENTIALS
Event: Downback Invitational (3.5k women, 3.6k men)
Location: Methodist University Downback Golf Course; Fayetteville, N.C.
Top teams, women: 1 – Coker University (22 pts.), 2 – Elizabeth City State University (51 pts.), Methodist University (55 pts.)
Top individuals, women: 1 – Kateria Peters, Guilford (14:26.67), 2 – Amelia Artz, Coker (14:39.37), 3 – Piper Campbell, Guilford (15:23.60)
Top teams, men: 1 – Elizabeth City State University (39 pts.), 2 – Coker University (39 pts.), 3 – Methodist University (46 pts.)
Top individuals, men: 1 – Jake Popkowski, Coker (14:05.08), 2 – Thomas Hanson, Methodist (14:37.72), 3 – Joshua White, Elizabeth City St. (14:48.90)
 
MONARCH NOTES

• Sophomore Thomas Hanson logs the best time for the Monarchs individually, placing second in the men's 3.6k with a time of 14:37.72. Freshman Randy Desjardin followed suit in his collegiate debut, recording 16:01.39 to conclude in eighth place.
• Freshman Me'Lik McLaughlin rounded out the top 10 with a time of 16:30.36. Junior Johnathan Bordeaux collected a top 15 outing with a time of 19:00.69. Senior Damian Jefferson (21:05.22) and sophomore J'Quez Jackson (21:23.02) finished out the men's placements for the Monarchs in 17th and 18th, respectively.
• Freshman Alexandria Manuel was the lone top 10 finisher in the women's 3.5k, collecting seventh place with a time of (16:11.43). Sophomore Mally King would follow suit in 11th position with a time of 18:57.29.
• Freshman Jailynn Russ (24:14.23) and senior Imani Kee (26:06.64), would rank out close to each other in 17th and 21st place, respectively. Freshman Sania Hill concluded the women's placements for Methodist in 23rd with a time of 27:35.35.

UP NEXT
Methodist will compete next in the Wilmington Beach Blast, hosted by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington on Saturday, September 12th, with the start time of race one set for 7:00 AM.