Lions race at Royals XC Challenge
The Mars Hill men's cross country team continued their 2023 campaign at the Royals XC Challenge at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, North Carolina with an 8k race.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's cross country team continued their 2023 campaign at the Royals XC Challenge at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, North Carolina with an 8k race. The race was well attended with over 60 teams from NCAA D1, D2, D3, and some of the top NAIA teams in the nation. The Mars Hill men's team finished 26th place in the Gold 8k race.
Running without their number one runner, Kelvin Kiprop, the Mars Hill men were led by Maliki Pope who crushed his previous personal best with a time of 27:26.87. The second and third Lions to cross the line were freshman Gabe Hunt, who finished with a time of 28:59.66 and Braxton Cummings, who finished with a time of 29:25.16. To round out scoring for the Lions was a pair of freshmen: Brandon Wright and Johnathan McIntyre.
Thoughts from Coach Benge:
"The men's team has been battling some sickness and injury, so it was difficult to see the full potential of our team today. For the first time this year, the guys got off to a strong start and got to experience a big championship race from the middle to front of the pack. This experience will translate well to our race confidence and preparation for the conference championship race."
To view the full list of results, please click here.
The Mars Hill cross country teams race next at the South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championship in Newton, North Carolina on Saturday, October 21.
