by Benny Benton
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. – The Barton College women's cross country team recorded four of the top five finishes as the Lady Bulldogs took home first place in the NCAA Division II race Saturday at the Hagan Stone Cross Country Classic.
Barton won the three-team meet with 22 points, followed by Tusculum College with 39 and University of Virginia-Wise with 60. Due to the weather, the meet was moved from its traditional site in Greensboro, N.C., to Redmon Park in Kernersville.
Leading the way for Barton was sophomore Sharon Kiptoo, who won the race with a 5K time of 21:16.06. The Kenyan native finished 12 seconds ahead of her teammate, junior Heather Cuddington, who placed second with a mark of 21:28.88.
Also posting top-five finishes for Barton were seniors Jamicia Jones and Lauren Yoho. Jones came in fourth with a time of 22:17.84, followed by Yoho in fifth with a mark of 22:29.08.
Providing Barton's final counting score was senior Eva Amo-Mensah, who placed 10th in the 21-runner field with a time of 23:41.06. Also competing for the Lady Bulldogs were sophomore Judith Melly (15th, 25:24.18) and junior Jayvona McDaniel (18th, 26:01.45).
The victory for Barton was its first since back-to-back wins during the 2013 season. The Lady Bulldogs will attempt to duplicate that feat this year when they return to action next Friday in the Royals Cross Country Challenge, which will be hosted by Queens University of Charlotte.
