by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Joel Lagat earned a second-place finish in the men's race at the Barton Cross Country Invitational on Friday, helping his Bulldogs to a second-place showing as well during competition at J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex.
Lagat, a sophomore transfer from Claflin University and native of Kenya, posted a time of 28:00.01 to earn runner-up honors in the third annual event. He finished roughly 10 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Jay Spieler and 33 seconds behind race winner Frisco Poole, both of Louisburg College.
The Hurricanes took five of the top six spots win the team event with 19 points. The Bulldogs placed all of their scoring runners inside the top-15 to claim second place with 45 points. Shaw University was third with 98 points, followed by Chowan University with 124, Winston-Salem State University with 126 and St. Augustine's with 132.
In addition to Lagat's second-place showing, Barton also received top-10 finishes from senior Lashley Winter and junior Tyler Amerson. Winter, who led the Bulldogs in all seven meets a season ago, came in seventh place with a time of 28:54.06, while Amerson earned the 10th spot with a mark of 29:15.50.
Sophomore Sebaston Barrett placed 13th with a time of 30:17.09, and Adam Pope crossed the line in the 18th spot with a mark of 31:03.78. Also competing for the Bulldogs were junior Luar Mercado Lopez (22nd, 32:00.55) and a pair of freshmen, Raekwon Fiddermon (24th, 32:54.84) and Leslie Jones (31st, 35:20.64).
Barton will return to action in two weeks at the Bulldog Stampede, hosted by Wingate University. The race will serve as a preview of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, which will be run on the same course in November.
