by Benny Benton
HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – Five of Barton College's six men's cross country runners set new personal 8K records on a fast course Saturday at the Sand Shark Invitational, hosted by the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
The Bulldogs beat three of the four other Conference Carolinas schools competing in the meet while placing 20th overall in a field of 37 squads.
For the fifth straight meet, Lashley Winter produced Barton's best time. The junior transfer recorded a mark of 26:35.79, cutting more than a minute off of his previous 8K best as a Bulldog, the 27:39.7 established at the Hagan Stone Classic on Oct. 4. Winter finished 76th in a large field of 236 runners.
Sophomore Tyler Amerson cut roughly 40 seconds off his PR while posting a time of 27:23.03, good for 104th in the meet. Freshman Sebaston Barrett was third for the Bulldogs and 134th overall with a mark of 28:22.82 that was a minute and half lower than his previous best.
Senior Daniel Strutton was fourth for the Bulldogs and 148th in the race with a time of 28:45.88 that eclipsed eight seconds off a PR that had stood since the 2011 Conference Carolinas Championships in his freshman season.
Sophomore Adam Pope provided Barton's final counting score with a time of 29:54.93, which was good for 189th. Competing in just his third event for the Bulldogs and his second 8K race, freshman Cody Warner knocked nearly two minutes off his other 8K effort at the season-opening Bulldog Cross Country Invitational, hosted by Barton. Warner came in 212th on Saturday in a time of 31:56.09.
The Bulldogs, with 651 team points, finished well ahead of fellow league members Belmont Abbey College (731 points, 29th), Erskine College (819, 32nd) and Southern Wesleyan University (835, 33rd), but was well behind Emmanuel College, who received a top-five finish from junior D'Andre Smalley and two other top-25 finishes to place seventh as a team with 189 points.
Barton will face all of those teams and the rest of the league in its next meet, the 2014 Conference Carolinas Championships, which will take place on Friday, Nov. 7, in Concord, N.C.
Barton Men's Cross Country Results (8K)
26:35.79 – Lashley Winter (76th/236)
27:23.03 – Tyler Amerson (104th)
28:22.82 – Sebaston Barrett (134th)
28:45.88 – Daniel Strutton (148th)
29:54.93 – Adam Pope (189th)
31:56.09 – Cody Warner (212th)
