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GREENSBORO- The North Carolina A&T cross country teams
had a good showing on Saturday at the Hagan Stone Cross Country Classic, in
their lone Greensboro meet. The men's
team finished eighth with a 2:28.47 total time in the 8k race, while the
women's team finished fourth with a total of 1:49.02 on a muddy 5k trail at
Hagan Stone Park.
The thing that I'm still elated about is that they're still
competitive," said director of track and field programs Duane Ross. "That's
what we've been trying to get them do since the start of the season--respond to
the different level of competitions. It doesn't
matter who's in the race-they're going to have to win it. We're not going to give them anything. That's the message that we're trying to not
just let the MEAC, but let the country know is that nothing is going to be
given."
Sophomore Saeed Jones led the men's team with an eighth
place finish, posting a 27:35.32 time, while senior Kristin Rush led the women
with a 10th place finish with a 20:18.72 time.
Jones and Rush were each awarded a trophy for posting a Top 10
finish.
Sophomore Christian Harrison had the second-best finish for
the Aggie men with a 29:04.92 time.
Freshman Janay Ferrell continued to improve, as she clocked in at
20:30.49 for a 12th place finish for the women. The Duke and the Wake Forest Club teams took first
and second.
The Aggies used the race at Hagan Stone Park to help them
prepare for the MEAC Championships, as it gave them a taste of the volume of
runners and the course difficulty they will face on Oct. 27 in Princess Anne,
Md. Even with the strong showing, Ross
will be working with his team to step up their overall performance so they can
earn a better team finish.
"That's where we're losing the meet," Ross said. "We have our top two on the men and women's
side. We need the rest of the team, the
next three, to step up and perform. Cross Country is like that. It doesn't matter if you have top two break
the world record, if the rest of them aren't close behind."
The men's team will look to return Paris Reddick-Simmons to
the team in their last regular season meet next Saturday, while Darius Bogertey
will be shut down for the season to continue rehabbing a knee injury.
The Aggies will compete in the Christopher Newport
Invitational on Oct. 13 before taking on the rest of the MEAC in the conference
championships.
"It'll be another great course," said Ross of their upcoming
meet. "This course this week will be
comparable to what we have in conference, so this will really be a good test
for them."
Men's Times: Total 2:28.47
8th Saeed
Jones 27:35.32
24th Christian
Harrison 29:04.91
54th Neegbeah
Reeves 30:33.13
55th Robert
Dula 30:33.92
63rd Omozokpia
Olumese 30:58.87
Women's Times; Total: 1:49.02
10th Kristin
Rush 20:18.72
12th Janay
Ferrell 20:30.49
24th Samira
Johnson 21:27.96
46th Cameron
Shackleford 22:40.94
66th Nichole Parker 24:03.84
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