NEWTON, N.C. --- The Tusculum College cross country teams competed at the Lenoir-Rhyne Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning at Southside Park. The Pioneer men finished in eighth place while the women tallied a 10th-place finish at the meet.
Jenny Grant was the top individual finisher for the women as she covered the 5,000-meter course in 23:13.3 to take 49th overall. Lakesa Hendrix followed in 58th place at 24:12.9, with Ashley Gregg close behind in 61st place at 24:54.8.
Rounding out the field for the Pioneers were Ashley Andrukonis in 69th place (28:27.0) and Carol Hogan in 71st place (29:15.2).
The host Bears claimed the individual champion as Kate Griewisch completed the race in 18:13.4 to win by over one minute. Milligan had three of the top five finishers and claimed the team title with 33 points, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (64) and Lees-McRae (76).
In the men's competition, David Cooper was the top runner for the Pioneers for the second straight week, coming home 36th in a time of 29:13.5 over the 8,000 meters. Kekona Soon was 50th with a time of 30:29.5, Zachary Simpson placed 59th in 31:29.2, Elijah Minter took 64th in 34:07.5 and George Blalock finished 65th in 34:30.1.
Mars Hill won the team championship with 42 points, edging Milligan (50) and Lenoir-Rhyne (70). The Lions' Justin Gragg won the individual race with a time of 26:09.1, good for a 29-second margin of victory.
The Pioneers return to the course next Saturday at the Carson-Newman Challenge in Morristown.
- TC -
Men's Team Results (8K)
Pl. Team Pts.
1 Mars Hill 42
2 Milligan 50
3 Lenoir-Rhyne 70
4 Lees-McRae 106
5 Belmont Abbey 138
6 Limestone 141
7 Brevard 160
8 TUSCULUM 229
Tusculum Individual Results
Pl. Runner Time
36 David Cooper 29:13.5
50 Kekona Soon 30:29.5
59 Zachary Simpson 31:29.2
64 Elijah Minter 34:07.5
65 George Blalock 34:30.1
Women's Team Results (5K)
Pl. Team Pts.
1 Milligan 33
2 Lenoir-Rhyne 64
3 Lees-McRae 76
4 Converse 143
5 Belmont Abbey 145
6 Brevard 146
7 Mars Hill 159
8 Limestone 197
9 Salem 230
10 TUSCULUM 272
Tusculum Individual Results
Pl. Runner Time
49 Jenny Grant 23:13.3
58 Lakesa Hendrix 24:12.9
61 Ashley Gregg 24:54.8
69 Ashley Andrukonis 28:27.0
71 Carol Hogan 29:15.2
