UMO men’s cross country third at Royals Challenge

CHARLOTTE – Sophomore Aman Tsegay finished ninth overall Oct. 7 as the Trojans placed third in the team standings at the Royals Cross Country Challenge hosted by Queens at the McAlpine Creek Park.

The University of Mount Olive men’s cross country program totaled 153 points at the event to finish third in the field of 27 teams. Augusta claimed the team title with 78 points behind four top-30 runners. Rio Grande placed second overall with 150 points after featuring the individual champion, while Mount Olive rounded out the top three in the standings.

Tsegay placed ninth in the field of more than 220 participants with a time of 26:37.1 while competing in the eight-kilometer race. He posted a mile pace of 5:21 and was sitting sixth overall at the 5.1-kilometer checkpoint before ultimately securing his second top-10 finish of the season.

Sophomore Nathanael Bierly registered a career-best time of 27:19.4 to place 26th overall in the Queen City. He climbed 22 spots in the standings from the 2.4-kilometer to 5.1-kilometer split before vaulting four more positions ahead of the finish line. Fellow sophomore Riley Willcox finished three spots behind in 29th place with a career-best time of 27:23.1. The Garner Magnet product leaped 10 slots in the final stretch of the race and finish in the top-30 overall.

Fellow sophomore Richard Villafranco finished 52nd overall with a time of 28:19.9 and leaped seven positions in the standings between the 5.1-kilometer split and the finish line. Sophomore Mattia Marci rounded out the team scorers with a time of 28:28.6 to finish in 63rd place.

Freshmen Josh Hendren and Matthew Riggs also competed in the event. Hendren placed 76th overall after crossing the line with a time of 28:50.0, while Riggs recorded a time of 30:02.9 to finish in 112th place.

Rio Grande freshman Tyler Jenkins won the race by more than 20 seconds with a time of 25:35.7 to claim the individual title.