Mars Hill runs at Covered Bridge Invitational

BOONE N.C. - The Mars Hill men's cross country team continued their 2023 campaign at the Covered Bridge Invitational at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. run over the 8k race distance. The men's team faced off against formidable DI teams including Florida State and host Appalachian State, finishing as the 12th team overall and third team among DII competition. 

Continuing a strong start to his freshman season, Kelvin Kiprop led the Lions with a 51st place finish and a time of 26:30.22 in his first 8k race. The second Mountain Lion to cross the line was Maliki Pope who showed his experience over the longer distance race, finishing in 91st place with a time of 28:09.81. The third, fourth, and fifth scorers for the Lions were also competing in their first ever 8k collegiate race. Gabriel Hunt finished in 95th place with a time of 28:22.65 and Braxton Cummings finished in 108th place with a time of 29:09.41. To round out scoring for the men's team, freshman Brandon Wright crossed the line in 124th place. 

Thoughts from Coach Benge:

"The move up to the 8k race distance from 5k in high school is a challenging one for many people. It is exciting to see that four of our top five runners today were in their first 8k collegiate race. It tells me that the future of the team is very bright over the next few years and there is much room for continued improvement this season as well! The men are excited to continue to put in the hard work necessary to see this continued improvement."

To view the full list of results, please click link here.

The Mars Hill cross country teams race next against some of the best teams from around the nation at the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, September 30th.