NEWTON, N.C. --- The Tusculum College men finished fifth and the TC women seventh at the Lenoir-Rhyne Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning at Southside Park.

The Tusculum men finished with 127 points, finishing fifth in the nine team field. NCAA Division I Radford won the team title with 26 points, while Mars Hill placed second with 39 points. Host Lenoir-Rhyne was third with 91 points, followed by Brevard (92), Tusculum (127), Carson-Newman (181), Lees-McRae (210), Virginia-Wise (212) and Emory & Henry (212).

Tusculum freshman Lawson Burrow was the top runner for the Pioneer men's squad as he posted a time of 28:01 on the 8,000-meter course, just ahead of teammate David Cooper, who also finished at 28:01. Kekona Soon recorded a time of 29:28 to finish 31st, while Zachary Simpson (30:05 - 36th) and Elijah Minter (31:41 - 49th) rounded out the scoring for Tusculum.

The Tusculum women finished with 155 points in the nine team field. Host Lenoir-Rhyne won the women's event with 54 points, while Mars Hill earned runner-up honors with 72 points. Radford was third with 86 points, followed by Carson-Newman (89), Converse (108), Brevard (143), Tusculum, Virginia-Wise (226) and Emory & Henry (252).

In the women's race, rookie Maggie Bernabei was the top Tusculum runner with her 5K time of 21:31, which was good enough to finish 17th. Paige Bible was 26th with a time of 22:12, while Jenny Grant posted a time of 22:55 to come in 32nd place. Ashley Gregg finished 38th at 23:45, followed by Allison Hall (23:57 - 42nd) and Lakesa Hendrix (24:45 - 45th) completed the Tusculum scoring.

Tusculum returns to action next Saturday as the Pioneers compete at the Carson-Newman Challenge at Panther Creek State Park in Morristown, Tenn.

- TC -

Men's Team Results
Pl. Team Pts
1 Radford 26
2 Mars Hill 39
3 Lenoir-Rhyne 91
4 Brevard 92
5 TUSCULUM 127
6 Carson-Newman 181
7 Lees-McRae 210
8 Virginia-Wise 212
Emory & Henry 212

Tusculum Men's Individual Times
Pl. Runner Time
12 Lawson Burrow 28:01
13 David Cooper 28:01
31 Kekona Soon 29:28
36 Zachary Simpson 30:05
49 Elijah Minter 31:41
George Blaylock DNF
Javier Portillo DNF

Women's Team Results
Pl. Team Pts
1 Lenoir-Rhyne 54
2 Mars Hill 72
3 Radford 86
4 Carson-Newman 89
5 Converse 108
6 Brevard 143
7 TUSCULUM 155
8 Virginia-Wise 226
9 Emory & Henry 252

Tusculum Women's Individual Times
Pl. Runner Time
17 Maggie Bernabei 21:31
26 Paige Bible 22:12
32 Jenny Grant 22:55
38 Ashley Gregg 23:45
42 Allison Hall 23:57
45 Lakesa Hendrix 24:45