ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Men's and Women's Cross Country teams continued their strong performances Saturday morning, competing at the Winthrop Cross Country Invitational at the Winthrop University Farm.

This year, the meet was divided into Garnet (NCAA Division I) and Gold (non-Division I) divisions. The men's team finished second in the Gold Division while the Wasp women were third. The Wasps were the only NCAA Division III institution at the event.

In the men's 8K race, sophomore Alex Cooper (Christiansburg, Va.) was 14th overall with a time of 28:37 while junior Nathan Fishell (Richmond, Va.) was two seconds behind in 15th. Third for the Wasps was freshman Michael Cawood (Louisville, Ky.), who clocked a time of 28:55 to come in 18th while sophomore Kevin Watts (Stafford, Va.) (28:59 – 20th) and freshman Buck Kirtland (Richmond, Va.) (29:57 – 23rd) rounded out the top five.

Shawnee State University claimed the Gold Division championship, nearly sweeping the event as it placed runners in the second through eighth spots. Benedict College's Dessie Denlew won the division and the overall individual title with a time of 25:25.

Freshman Meg Greene's (Charlotte, N.C.) collegiate personal best of 20:45 across the 5K distance placed her fourth while freshman Olivia Wyatt (Independence, Va.) ran a 22:10 to finish 11th. Emory & Henry's third through fifth runners were within two seconds of one another. Freshman Kaitlynn Stowers (Round Rock, Texas) was 17th in 23:14 while freshman Lindsey Pratt (Marion, Va.) came in 18th (23:15). Junior Elizabeth Wilson (Roanoke, Va.) turned in a time of 23:16 for a 19th-place finish.

Columbia (S.C.) College put three runners in the top five to win the Gold Division, led by Janay Chisholm's 20:15 performance. Kyla Van Graan of Coastal Carolina University had the top time of the day as she covered the course in 17:18.

Emory & Henry will next compete in the Royals Cross Country Challenge, hosted by Queens University of Charlotte. The race will take place on Saturday, October 11 at McAlpine Park in Charlotte.

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-photos courtesy of Sandi Greene