by Benny Benton
WINGATE, N.C. – Three Barton College cross country runners finished in the top half of a strong regional field Saturday as the Bulldogs came in 15th place at the Bulldog Stampede, which was hosted by Wingate University.
For the second straight meet, the Bulldogs were led by Joel Lagat. The sophomore transfer from Kenya completed the 8K course at the WU Cross Country Facility in a time of 28:04.65, which placed him among the top third of the 179-runner field in 52nd place. His time was four seconds off his pace in the season-opening Bulldog Invitational, where he came in second place.
Senior Lashley Winter and junior Tyler Amerson also finished among the top half of the field on Saturday. Winter placed 61st overall with a time of 28:20.16, while Amerson came in three spots behind him following a run of 28:23.70.
Sophomore Sebaston Barrett and junior Luar Mercado Lopez provided Barton's final two counting scores, placing 97th and 141st, respectively. Barrett posted a time of 29:24.50, and Lopez recorded a mark of 30:54.86. Winter, Amerson, Barrett and Lopez all improved their times from the first race of the year by 30 seconds or more.
Also competing for Barton in the meet were junior Adam Pope (152nd, 31:27.88) and freshman Raekwon Fiddermon (163rd, 32:32.95).
A total of 19 teams competed in the meet, which was held on the same layout where the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional will take place in November. Given that the race was a preview of the regionals, most of the region's programs took part in the meet, which was run in rainy and muddy conditions.
University of Mount Olive, the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region, won the meet with 50 points after placing all five counting runners inside the top 15. Queens University of Charlotte was a distant second with 92 points.
Barton garnered 370 points in finishing 15th. Among the four teams which Barton defeated were two conference programs, Belmont Abbey College and Pfeiffer University. The Bulldogs finished directly behind two other league foes, North Greenville University and Lees-McRae College.
Barton will compete next Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Hagan Stone Cross Country Classic, hosted by the Greensboro Pacesetters track club in Greensboro, N.C.
