ROCK HILL, SC -- Led by sophomore Anthony Harris, the VMI men\'s cross-country team took home a seventh place finish among Division I teams in the Adidas/Winthrop Invitational Saturday morning.
Harris\' time of 26:11 over the 8K course marked the second consecutive week that Harris paced the Keydets. His 33rd place finish was just three spots in front of freshman Donnie Mikels, who ran a 26:21. Rounding out the top five Keydet runners were Edwin Lugo (26:40- 41st place), Shawn Hogan (26:47-45th place) and Graham Forbes (26:56- 47th place).
The Keydets had two entrants in the women\'s 5K race, Ania Najda, who ran a 19:29 (22nd place) and Kathleen Resetar, who ran a 22:18 (74th place).
\"The guys did a good job this weekend,\" said VMI head coach Paul Spangler. \"We ran well as a group with only 45 seconds separating our #1 runner and our #5. In addition we averaged 26:35 for our top five scorers, which is the fastest we\'ve averaged in the three season\'s I\'ve been here. Anthony Harris continues to run well and Donnie Mikels has solidified himself as one of the top freshmen in the Big South. I have been very impressed with the progress of Edwin Lugo who knocked close to 3:00 off his seasonal 8k best form last year.\" \"On the women\'s side, Ania Najda did well in just her first collegiate cross country race,\" continued Spangler. \"Coming from Poland, the longest cross country race she had competed in was 3k. I know moving up to 5k for a middle distance runner can take some adjustment. She did very well for the first time out and will only improve as the season progresses.\"
High Point took home the men\'s team title, while Charlotte won on the women\'s side. Matt Clark of Clemson took home individual honors with a time of 24:36, while High Point\'s Jemissa Hess ran a 17:54, defeating her nearest opponent by 10 seconds to win the meet.
Overall, the VMI men\'s cross-country team finished eight out of the 21 teams entered, while the women\'s team did not record a team score.
The VMI cross-country teams will return to action Saturday, October 9, when they travel to Greenville, S.C. to compete in the Furman Invitational.