Maryland Eastern Shore male runners placed in the top three spots at the Towson University Invitational held on Saturday at Oregon Ridge Park in Hunt Valley, Md, but Salisbury University placed first overall on the men's side as a team.

In the men's five-mile run, Salisbury University had 32 points and an average time of 29:05.75. UMES placed second with 49 points and an average time of 30:51.38. Delaware State had 74 points and an average time of 30:47.66, which was good for third place.  Bowie State placed fourth with 99 points and an average time of 32:42.47 while Coppin State came in fifth and last place with 113 points and an average time of 34:41.05.

Junior Amon Kiprotich took first place out of 44 runners in the men's five mile race with a time of 28:14.86.  Teammates Peter Sang and Shadrack Maritim came in second and third with respective times of 28:27.86 and 28:50.93.

The next UMES finisher was junior Paul Jones-Burden in 38th place with a time of 38:25.94.  Sophomore Jermol Dix, junior Thomas Keene-Dawes and sophomore Damian Miles held the 42nd, 43rd and 44th places with respective times of 41:52.66, 47:56.58 and 48:31.94.

In the women's five-kilometer run, Towson University took the tournament with 15 points and the top seven spots, with an average time of 19:24.29.  Salisbury University came in second with 69 points and an average time of 21:29.49.  Delaware State and UMES tied for third place with 105 points and average respective times of 22:16.80 and  22:16.68.  Coppin State placed fifth with 154 points and an average time of 24:14.55 while Bowie State came in sixth with 155 points and an average time of 23:26.91.

Morgan State and the District of Columbia finished with 159 and 221 points, respectively which was good for seventh and eighth places with average times of 24:44.89 and 27:40.59.

Liya Kasmiova, a sophomore from Towson, placed first with a time of 19:14.49. Sophomore Cynthia Anais was the highest UMES finisher on the women's side with a time of 20:57.88 which was good for a tenth place finish out of 65 runners.   Senior Tamica Thomas was close behind with a time of 21:00.37, good for 11th place.  Fellow senior Celia Whyte placed 28th with a time of 22:30.99.  Jessica Abrantes, a junior, placed 32nd with a time of 22:43.83.  Freshmen Emilie Ducados and Kenesha Abrams were close together with respective times of 24:26.89 and 24:26.89, good for 43rd and 45th places.  Freshman Courtney Gray placed 65th overall with a time of 34:14.08.

Both teams host the UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational, next Saturday, Sept. 19, at 10:00 a.m. at the UMES Cross Country Course.