Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's cross-country team finished fourth, while the men's team was ninth Saturday in the Blue Hen Classic at White Clay Creek State Park.
Merrecia James was the Hawks' top finisher, completing the five-kilometer course in 18:59.95. She helped UMES score 134 points on the day which was only topped by Pittsburgh (77), Millersville and Delaware (24). Priscilla Jennings of Millersville took the individual title with a time of 18:03.59.
Three of the Hawks' remaining four scorers finished in the top-40 runners in the event. Celia Whyte was 21st in 19:59.69; Eunice Jones came in 28th at 20.16.41 and Cynthia Anais finished 38th in 20.45.20.
Denai Lendor rounded out the scorers with a 66th-place finish in 22:14.81.
Solomon Kirongo led the UMES men with a time of 27:47.99 on the eight-kilometer course. The Hawks tallied 243 points and Greg Kareis of Pittsburgh won the individual crown in 25:45.44, while Delaware took the team competition with 28 points.
Other scorers for the UMES men were Jerome Pyuzza in 62nd with a time of 31:17.56, Paul Jones-Burden, who was 71st in 33:03.77, Damian Miles in 75th in 40:23.27 and Jermol Dix in 76th in 40:54.44.
Corey Alexander also finished in 44:12.88.
Non-scoring finishers for the Lady Hawks were Tiffany Webb in 24:33.32 and Makela Richardson in 27:08.69.
Next, the UMES cross country teams prepare to defend their 2007 conference titles as the Hawks host the MEAC championship Saturday, Oct. 25 at 9:30 a.m.