Spartans Sweep 2nd through 6th in Great American Victory

CARY, N.C. -Norfolk State swept second through sixth places to earn 20 points and take the team title at the HBCU Challenge at the Great American Cross Country Festival on Saturday morning.

Senior Philemon Kimutai was the Spartans' top finisher, placing second overall in 25 minutes, 23 seconds. That started a run of five straight NSU finishers. Sophomore Nathnael Meseret was third in 25:41.8, junior Vincent Rono was fourth in 25:46.1, sophomore Damtew Adnew was fifth in 25:48.1 and Amos Kipkosgei was sixth in 25:57.

Winston-Salem State finished second behind NSU in the 16-team field, with 98 points.

For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com

Spartan Women Place 6th at Great American

CARY, N.C. - Led by a top-10 finish by Kellen Rutto, the NSU women's cross country team finished sixth overall out of 17 teams on Saturday morning at the HBCU Challenge of the Great American Cross Country Festival.

Rutto finished eighth overall, running the 5,000-meter course in a season-best 19 minutes, 40.3 seconds. Freshmen Ariel Bartice-Smith and Kassandra Irizarry were NSU's next highest finishers, in 23rd and 25th places, respectively. Seniors Jamia Hutto and Syeeda Gee were 27th and 44th, respectively.

For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com

Rattlers take Bobby Lang Invitational

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct.1) - The Florida A&M Rattlers battled a tough Morehouse team to earn the championship of the 3rd Annual Bobby Lang Cross Country Invitational Championship, here on the campus of FAMU. Under cool temperatures of 70 degrees, the meet started at the Robert "Pete" Griffin Track Complex and circled through the center of the main campus, for the Men's 8K race.

Shuaib Winters, the 2010 MEAC Outstanding Cross Country Athlete of the Year, took first place for the collegiate division, in a time of 25:20.00, which averaged out to just under five minutes per mile.

Lamere Buchanon, finished in fifth place, in a time of 26:51.56. He was followed in sixth place by Robyel Kidane, who navigated the course in 27:02.10. Dieumy Duclos finished in seventh place with a time of 27:35.67.

Degion Craddock finished in 29:38.28, while McDaniel Oliver finished in 31:42.89, finishing 14th and 17th respectively.

The Rattlers edged Maroon Tigers, with a score of 32, while the Morehouse tallied 34 points. Bethune-Cookman finished with 60 points, capturing third place.

For more information, visit www.famuathletics.com

LADY PIRATES WIN, PIRATES FINISH THIRD IN HBCU INVITE

CARY, N.C. - The Hampton women's cross country team won the 2011 great American HBCU Invitational on Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park, while the men's cross country team finished third in the team standings.

The Lady Pirates dominated the women's meet, tallying just 29 points - 63 points fewer than second-place Winston-Salem State - while the Pirates finished with 129 points.

Four Lady Pirates finished in the top 10, led by sophomore Nichelle Harris, who ran a season-best 19:07.30 over the 5K course to finish second. Sophomore Alaine Tate ran a 19:15.10 to come in fourth, while sophomore Devyn Thompson came in fifth with a 19:20.50 and junior Teshika Rivers was sixth with a 19:29.30.

On the men's side, junior Xavier Fraction paced the Pirates with a season-best 27:07.90 over the 8K course to finish 12th, becoming the lone Pirate to finish in the top 15. Sophomore Je'Von Hutchison ran a 27:56.80 - breaking the 28-minute barrier for the first time this season - to finish 21st.

For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com

Cross Country Teams Continue to Show Improvement

LEESBERG, Va. - Howard's men's and women's cross country team competed at George Mason University this past Saturday Oct. 1, 2011. Both squads continue to show improvement as the men's team placed fifth, while the women took seventh.

For the Bison men, freshman Giorani Mowatt came in 26th with a time of 27:19 in the eight mile, leading the HU pack. Coming in six seconds later was sophomore Aaron Harrison with a time of 27:25.

Leading the Howard women was sophomore Candice German coming in 49th with a time of 26:51. Shortly after, followed junior Danielle Douglas, sophomore Doriean Broady, and sophomore Symone Glover consecutively with times of 29:54, 31:33, 32:58, respectively.

For the complete story, visit www.howard-bison.com

Inspired Benn Leads Aggies 

CARY - Janessa Benn had a career performance at the 3rd Annual Robert Shumake HBCU Cross Country Challenge at the Wake Med Sports Complex.

Benn placed third overall in the women's 5k run with a time of 19:14, just seconds behind the first place finisher Amber Brooks of N.C. Central (19:05.3). Benn ran with a pink ribbon on her jersey to mark the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to represent for her grandmother who lived with breast cancer.

The women placed seventh out of 19 teams that competed. Juniors Arianna Betts and Kristin Rush placed 15th and 16th in 20:34.6 and 20:34.9 respectively. Junior Samaria Johnson finished 19th (20:49.5) and sophomore Roshel Bygrave finished 63rd and completed the course in 23:21.5.

For the men, junior captain Paris Simmons set the pace for the Aggies by finishing the course in 27:37.7 and placing 18th overall. The men placed sixth out of 16 teams in the 8K race.

Freshman Christian Harrison followed Simmons in 23rd. Junior Steve Liggins finished 28th (28:42.5), senior Danzeto Cephas placed 32nd (29:07.7) and Marvin Lambert finished 62nd (31:40.2).

The men's race ended in a photo finish with Winston Salem State's Andrew Chebii-Singh wining with a time of 25:22.9.

For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com

NCCU BROOKS FINISHES FIRST DURING WOMEN'S HBCU CROSS COUNTRY CHALLENGE

Cary, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) -North Carolina Central's men's and women's cross country teams participated in the annual Great American Cross Country Festival on Saturday, Oct. 1, in Cary N.C., at the WakeMed Soccer Park. The Eagles competed in the men's 8K HBCU Challenge, while the Lady Eagles raced in the women's 5K HBCU Challenge.

The race hosted Hampton, Winston-Salem State, North Carolina A&T State, Virginia State, Norfolk State, Virginia Union, St. Augustine's, South Carolina State, Lincoln, Bowie State, Benedict, Shaw, Chowan, Livingstone, Fayetteville State, Johnson C. Smith and NCCU.

Amber Brooks, the freshmen out of Tampa, Fla., clocked in her best time of the season during the women's 5000 meter race. Brooks finished with a 19 minute and 5 second trail time and took home first place for her Lady Eagles. Senior Dreanna Wallace was also a top runner during the women's race finished 7th overall and clocked a time of 19:33 to help NCCU capture the 3rd place spot out of 17 competing colleges and universities. 

During the men's 8K race sophomore Brandon Addison finished on top for the Eagles. Addison finished with a 33:56 time, with 78th finish for NCCU.  Chris Swepson finished behind his teammate with a 34:08 time and a 80th finish for the Eagles who placed 15th on the day.

For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com