Live Results
SALEM, Va. -- Led by three All-Region performers, the Christopher Newport cross country teams both registered top-10 finishes at the NCAA South Championships, which were held on Saturday at Green Hill Park in Salem, Virginia.
Competing against the finest programs from around the South, five Captains placed in the top-50, including four in the women's 6k. Aided by those efforts, the women finished seventh overall with 199 points, while the men came in 10th with a score of 277.
Headlining Saturday's standouts,
Sarah Dake and
Sarah Bland both earned All-Region nods for their work in the 6k. Dake came in 22nd overall with a time of 22:48.8, which marked the top performance by a Captain at the Regional Championships since former legend Madi Rawlings came in 13th in 2022. Just seconds later, Bland placed 30th with a mark of 23:13.2
With their efforts, Dake and Bland became the first Captains to earn All-Region accolades in the 6k since Rawlings and Eliza Dana secured the honor three years ago.
Following the award-winners,
Kayla Lopez was 48th overall in 23:57.7, while
Josie Brumfield rounded out the top-50 in 24:01.9. Capping off the team's top-seven,
Katherine Streeter was 56th (24:14.4),
Courtney Mudd came in 57th (24:14.8), and
Lauren Ryan placed 77th (25:08.3).
"The women raced well but weren't quite ready to take on the front of the region," said head coach
Tyler Wingard. "All but one of the women will be back next year with a few more right behind the seven who raced, so we should be in a good position to compete for a team berth next year."
On the men's side,
Clayton Rankin starred in the 8k. For the third straight meet, the junior eclipsed the 26-minute mark as he placed 27th overall with a time of 25:47.0. That effort secured the third-year star his first career All-Region honor.
"Clayton got out with the intent of making the cut for Nationals," said Wingard. "It wasn't there for him today, but it was another good step forward for him."
Following Rankin's showcase,
Tom Foti was second on the squad after coming in 56th with a 26:40.6 mark.
Kevin Farnsworth also eclipsed 27-minutes as the junior was just one spot behind his teammate with a clocking of 26:43.7.
Rounding out Saturday's runners,
Evan Young placed 67th (27:01.8),
Luke Tompkins was 74th (27:08.4), and
Luca Hinton finished 123rd (28:34.7).
With their performance, the men registered the program's 13th consecutive top-10 finish on the regional stage, while the women extended their streak to 12 straight top-10 efforts.
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