by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Host Barton College placed all five of its scoring runners in the top-15 to earn second place out of six teams in the men's 8k race at the inaugural Bulldog Cross Country Invitational, held at the J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex on Friday evening.
Saint Augustine's College had three top-10 finishers, including the race winner, to narrowly win the team title over Barton by one point. The Falcons secured the win with 42 points while the Bulldogs had 43 points for runner-up position.
Rounding out the field from third to sixth place were Methodist University (60 points), Shaw University (85), Chowan University (124) and Winston-Salem State University (147).
Junior Austin Edmonds and freshmen Yacine Gharbi and Luar Mercado Lopez all recorded top-10 showings in front of the large home crowd to help Barton to its high finish.
Edmonds completed the 5-mile course in 28:06 to take second place. Edmonds was just three seconds off his collegiate 8k PR time. Torion Bailey from Saint Aug's won the individual title with a time of 27:36.
Gharbi crossed the finish line 39 seconds behind Edmonds in third at 28:45. Lopez seized ninth place with a benchmark time of 31:05. The high results were the first top-10 finishes for both Gharbi and Lopez in a Royal Blue and White uniform.
A trio of Bulldogs raced to the finish line in a 37-second span to conclude BC's scoring. Senior John Aranda paced the pack in 14th at 32:07. The freshmen duo of Tyler Amerson and Adam Pope followed in 15th and 16th, respectively, with times of 32:35 and 32.44.
The Bulldogs had a total of eight harriers complete the endurance race with senior Anthony Nelson clocking in at 34:29 and junior Daniel Strutton gutting out a time of 36:30 after missing the first race with injury.
Barton has three weeks to prepare for its next race when the Bulldogs compete in the Conference Carolinas Preview at Frank J. Liske Park in Concord, N.C., on Friday, October 4.
Bulldog Invitational (Men's 8k)
43 – Barton (2nd/6)
28:06.21 – Austin Edmonds (2nd/40)
28:45.49 – Yacine Gharbi (3rd)
31:05.31 – Luar Lopez (9th)
32:07.40 – John Aranda (14th)
32:35.31 – Tyler Amerson (15th)
32:44.00 – Adam Pope (16th)
34:29.71 – Anthony Nelson (24th)
36:30.72 – Daniel Strutton (29th)
