LUMBERTON, N.C. – Once again led by sophomores Steven Holmes and Kelly May, the Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams finished second and third respectively at the UNC Pembroke Invitational, held Saturday (Sept. 9) at Luther Britt Park.
FMU trailed only St. Augustine’s College in the men’s standings. The Falcons tallied 41 points, followed by Francis Marion (63), UNCP (86), Winston-Salem State University (93), North Carolina Central University (103), and Shaw University (109).
Holmes finished the 8,000-meter race in a personal-best time of 28:18 – 30 seconds better than his previous best – which was good for fourth place. Holmes was followed by sophomore Dan Brann (11th), who also recorded a personal-best time of 29:31, Patrick Hopewell in 13th position (29:55), freshman John Corley in 14th (31:03), junior Ariel Ortiz in 21st (31:57), freshman Jacob Williams in 27th (33:54), and junior T.J. Simmons in 38th (38:06).
North Carolina Central captured the women’s team title with a score of 26, followed by UNCP (58), FMU (77), St. Augustine’s (96), Winston-Salem State (97), and Shaw (148).
May finished eighth as she toured the 5,000-meter course in 21:02. Junior Codi Knoch finished immediately after May in ninth position with a time of 21:09, while freshman Amanda Doyle was 17th (22:48), senior Megan Coy was 21st (23:12), freshman Kim Richardson was 29th (24:41), sophomore Liz Calixto was 31st (25:18), senior Sara Parry was 37th (personal-best time of 26:14), and freshman Holly Todd was 38th (27:02).
Isrreal Jaimes of St. Augustine’s won the men's race in a time of 27:02, while Yolanda Barber of NCCU finished first in the women’s race with a time of 19:28.
Both Francis Marion squads will compete in the Wingate University Invitational Meet, Saturday morning in Wingate, N.C.
