by Kevin Buczek
WINGATE, N.C.-Three Bulldogs produced top-20 showings to lead the Barton College men's cross country team to a fourth place finish out of eight institutions in the Bulldog Stampede hosted by Wingate University on Saturday morning.
Senior Sammy Serem was the first Barton Bulldog across the finish line when he traversed the 8,000-meter trail in 27 minutes and 20 seconds. Serem notched his second straight top-10 finish to start his final season with his seventh place result. The Nindi Hills, Kenya, native was less than a minute off the race-winning pace.
Classmate Christopher Free, who was named Conference Carolinas Runner of the Week after his last race, yielded another strong showing by finishing 15th with a speed of 28:03.
Sophomore Austin Edmonds was the third Barton Bulldog to complete the endurance race in the top-20 out of 70 entrants. Edmonds was 20th overall with a time of 28:51.
Sophomore Daniel Strutton just finished in the top-half of the field when he clocked in at 30:41 for 35th place. Junior Walter Ngeno capped competition for BC in 47th with a time of 32:06.
The Bulldogs edged Southeast Region foe Newberry by five points, for fourth place out of eight teams with a team score of 109. Mars Hill College, ranked fourth in the current USTFCCCA Southeast Region Poll, won the team title with 30 points. The Host Wingate Bulldogs were race runner-ups with 67 points. Catawba College exacted revenge on Barton from two weeks ago by finishing third with 97 points. BC did defeat its lone Conference Carolinas opposition in Pfeiffer University.
Barton will next text itself at a Division I hosted event on Friday, September 28 in the UNC Charlotte Invitational.
Barton Results
7. Sammy Serem (27:20)
15. Christopher Free (28:03)
20. Austin Edmonds (28:51)
35. Daniel Strutton (30:41)
47. Walter Ngeno (32:06)
