CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Coker men's and women's cross country teams finished 14th and 22nd at the Royals Challenge hosted by Queens University of Charlotte. In a field littered with Division I powerhouses, the men were able to better five South Atlantic Conference foes, while the ladies were able to beat two conference rivals.
The men were led by freshman Noah Cook who ran an 8k time of 27:14. Senior Dylan Bates, sophomore James Gregory and junior Nick Mascardo were not far behind tallying times of 27:54, 28:05 and 28:15. Freshman Peter Kemboi was next recording a time of 30:26. The freshman duo of Evan Alcorn and Christopher Andre came in with times of 31:17 and 33:09, respectively. Sophomore Tre' Williams rounded the out the Coker men with a time of 39:06.
The ladies were led by freshman Shauntel Smullen who ran a 5k time of 19:35 and finished in the top 25. Sophomore Mercy Muhuhu crossed the finish line next, recording a time of 20:10. The duo of senior Kirsten Sanders and freshman Lisa Foster were neck and neck as they came in with times of 22:55 and 22:57. Junior Naomi Watson rounded out the ladies squad with a time of 26:56.
The Navy and Yellow will be back in action on Oct. 25 as they will travel to Beaufort, S.C. for the Sand Shark Invitational hosted by USC Beaufort.
Story by Aaron Beebe '15 Coker sports information department intern.