STATE COLLEGE, Pa.  — Friday proved to be the first kink in the armor on an otherwise unbridled season for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore cross country team. The women’s team placed 27th in the 6k race while the men earned 21st in the 10k event.

As the case has been all season long, sophomores Barbora Blahutova and Khalil Rmidi Kinini led their respective teams as the first Hawk to cross the finish line. Blahutova finished 93rd in the field of over 200 athletes with a time of 22:31.0 in her longest race of the season. Kinini also ran his longest race of the year, taking home a 62nd place finish with a time of 31:45.7.

Other performers for UMES include junior Shantol Hemley and sophomore Rachel Halmon who crossed the finish line together with a 24:13.6 mark. Junior Jheniel Kelly finished the course with a time of 24:41.3, while senior Margaret Wilmot-Francis will take home a 24:54.1 finish. Freshman Janice Lane, the lone first year player for the Hawks to run finished with a time of 25:24.5, and a time of 25:41.8 by senior Jasmine Sampson rounded out the field for the women’s team.

After Kinini it was junior Mark Tuwei who crossed the line second for Hawks with a time of 33:45.9. Freshman Nelson Kimutai followed Tuwei earning a mark of 33:59.8, and sophomore Derrick Cheruiyot’s  time of 35:02.8 placed him fourth among UMES male runners. Finally, freshman Stanley Meli rounded out the men’s squad with his finish at 35:25.9.

The Hawks will hope to get back to their winning ways at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. on November 22nd.