COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Coker men's and women's cross country teams brought home a pair of second-place finishes at CIU Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 20).

Leading the way for the men in the 5k event was Dylan Bates with a ninth-place finish. The senior posted a time of 17:01. Freshman Noah Cook followed close behind with a time of 17:22 and a 11^th place finish. Junior Nick Mascardo came in 14^th with a time of 17:26, while sophomore James Gregory crossed the finish line at 17:39 in 16^th place. Freshmen Evan Alcorn and Christopher Andre rounded out the field for the Cobras with times of 19:24 and 21:38, respectively.

In the women's race, freshman Shauntel Smullen led the way with a fourth-place finish of 21 minutes in the 5k event. Freshman Makeda Eley O'Reilly and sophomore Mercy Muhuhu posted seventh and eighth place finishes with times of 21:51 and 21:58, respectively. Junior Vanessa Pina came in 12^th with a time of 22:27, while freshman Lisa Foster finished 20^th at 23:40. Closing out the runners for the Cobras were senior Kirsten Sanders and junior Naomi Watson with times of 24:42 and 26:57, respectively. 

The Cobras will return to action in two weeks when they travel to Cary, N.C. for the Great American Cross Country Festival on Oct. 4.