CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jonathan Cummings broke the Lander men's cross country school record for the 8K to highlight the Bearcats' performance at the Royals XC Challenge on Friday evening at McAlpine Creek Park, one of the faster courses in the region.
Cummings finished 85th in the men's 8K Gold race with a time of 25:53.6, setting a new school record for the distance.
Jayden Metzler was the next Lander runner to finish in the Gold race, placing 119th in 26:20.0. Noah Larkin crossed the line in 158th at 26:53.6, followed by Noah Chevalier in 168th with a time of 27:05.7.
Seth Hammon finished 187th in 27:31.6, while Griffin Freeman placed 198th in 27:55.3. Adam Bedenbaugh crossed the line in 219th at 28:36.8.
In the men's 8K Blue race, Benjamin Carroll led Lander with a 69th-place finish in 28:04.4. Cooper Mayo placed 94th in 28:52.4, Bryan Wright finished 105th in 29:12.7, Ronin Kruse was 108th in 29:15.4, and Tariku Thompson placed 112th in 29:27.2. Noah Blankenship finished 162nd in 31:24.1.
Lander finished 22nd in the men's Gold team standings with 578 points.
The Bearcats return to the Palmetto State on Oct. 17 at the Upstate Invitational before continuing their preparations for the Peach Belt Conference Championships on Nov. 7 in Macon, Georgia.
