by Benny Benton
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Barton College runners Sharon Kiptoo, Heather Cuddington and Judith Melly all shattered their previous 5K personal records on Friday while competing in the Royals Cross Country Challenge at McAlpine Creek Park.
Kiptoo, a junior from Eldoret, Kenya, and Cuddington, a senior from Saratoga, N.C., both had outstanding runs, finishing back-to-back in 13th and 14th place, respectively, among a field of 261 competitors in the Open Division.
Kiptoo's time of 18:36.5 was nearly a minute better than her previous top performance at Barton, and was a half-second faster than her overall collegiate PR, which she set at the Panther Cross Country Classic in 2014 while attending Hampton University.
Cuddington had never broken the 20-minute barrier in her career, but blew past that number with her best performance ever, a mark of 18:37.6. Her previous PR of 20:04.2 had been set in her most recent race three weeks ago at the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C.
Melly also broke her personal record for the second meet in a row. The junior from Eldoret, Kenya, shaved more than a minute off her previous mark of 22:29.4 with an effort on Friday of 21:21.6, which ranked 151st.
Rounding out the scoring for Barton, which finished 17th out of 31 teams in the Open Division, were seniors Jamicia Jones and Jayvona McDaniel. Jones placed 189th with a time of 22:15.0, while McDaniel came in 234th following a mark of 24:20.1.
The meet was the final tune-up for the Lady Bulldogs before the 2016 Conference Carolinas Championships, which will take place at Frank J. Liske Park in Concord, N.C., on October 21.
Royals Cross Country Challenge
Barton (17th of 31; 261 individuals)
13. Sharon Kiptoo, 18:36.5 (PR)
14. Heather Cuddington, 18:37.6 (PR)
151. Judith Melly, 21:21.6 (PR)
189. Jamicia Jones, 22:15.0
234. Jayvona McDaniel, 24:20.1
