CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Emory & Henry Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams were in action Friday afternoon at Queens (N.C.) University's Royals Cross Country Challenge at McAlpine Park. The race fields were mostly comprised of NCAA Division I and Division II teams including Duke University, the University of South Carolina, King (Tenn.) University, Tusculum College and Mars Hill College.

The Emory & Henry men finished 28th of 33 teams in the 8K and were led by freshman Alex Cooper (Christiansburg, Va.) as he clocked a time of 28:16. Sophomore Nathan Fishell (Richmond, Va.) ran a 28:37 while freshman Jackson Feezell (Gastonia, N.C.) was third for the Wasps (29:28). Sophomore Will Leigh (Hamilton, Va.) turned in a time of 30:15 to finish fourth on the squad. The Wasps still were strong without one of their top runners in freshman Kevin Watts (Stafford, Va.).

Duke won the men's race taking placing eight runners under 26:00 while Queens' Felix Duchampt was the medalist, finishing in 24:52.

On the women's side, the Wasps, who finished 28th of 34, were paced by sophomore Leslie Sierra (Front Royal, Va.), who ran a 21:20 while sophomore Elizabeth Wilson (Roanoke, Va.) was close behind, finishing the 5K race in 21:42. Freshman Natalie Foley (Salem, Va.) and sophomore Gabbie Rhodes (Richmond, Va.) ran a 22:23 and 22:27, respectively, and sophomore Sara Nichols (Rocky Mount, Va.) clocked a 23:07 to round out the top five.

South Carolina took home the team title while unattached runner Audrey Huth put up a blistering pace of 16:43 to win the event.

Emory & Henry will conclude the regular season with another test against top-level competition as it travels to Boone, N.C., next Friday for Appalachian State University's Blue Ridge Open. The first race is set for 3:00 p.m.

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