by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Barton College opened up its 2014 season with a third place finish out of 12 institutions in front of a home crowd during the second annual Bulldog Cross Country Invitational on an overcast Friday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs placed all five of their scoring runners in the top-25 out of 99 harriers to garner the third position with 81 points.
UNC Pembroke – ranked seventh in the USTFCCCA Southeast Regional preseason poll – had three top-10 finishers to win the team title with 53 points. Pfeiffer University held off Barton by five points for second on the strength of having the second and third place individual runners.
BC did hold off Meredith College (96 points) – preseason ranked ninth in the South/Southeast Region of NCAA Division III – for fourth place. Rounding out the field were Winston-Salem State University (131), Francis Marion University (164), Louisburg College (184), Shaw University (199), Saint Augustine's University (253), Chowan University (261), Salem College (267) and Methodist University (290).
A trio of seniors paced the Lady Bulldogs to the 5k finish line around the J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex in a 17-second span. Lauren Andreola posted a top-10 finish with an eighth place time of 20:56; Cimone Barbour garnered 12th at 21:03; and Angelica Del Real followed close behind in 15th at 21:13.
Sophomore Heather Cuddington provided Barton with a quality 21st place finish when she crossed the finish line in 21:36.
Andrea Roca was the Lady Bulldogs fourth senior to count towards BC's team score when she secured 25th place with a speed of 21:49. Junior Lauren Yoho also placed in the upper half of the field in 34th with a time of 22:17. Rounding out the competition for Barton were junior Jamicia Jones (24:10), senior Tikycia Young (24:22) and the Lady Bulldogs lone newcomer in junior transfer Eva Amo-Mensah (24:46).
Barton next competes in the Wolfpack Invitational hosted by NC State University at the WakeMed Cross Country Course in Cary, N.C., on Friday, September 19.
Barton Women's Cross Country Results
20:56.49 – Lauren Andreola (8th/99)
21:03.65 – Cimone Barbour (12th)
21:13.78 – Angelica Del Real (15th)
21:36.29 – Heather Cuddington (21st)
21:49.01 – Andrea Roca (25th)
22:17.50 – Lauren Yoho (34th)
24:10.08 – Jamicia Jones (58th)
24:22.52 – Tikycia Young (62nd)
24:46.67 – Eva Amo-Mensah (63rd)
