DARLINGTON, S.C. – For the second time in as many races, Carly Fuel broke the Lander women's cross country 5K school record as the Bearcats finished second at the Coker Cobras XC Invitational on Friday afternoon in the shadow of Darlington Raceway.

Fuel finished second overall with a time of 17:56.8, finishing just 1.8 seconds behind Lees-McRae's Megan Knapp, who won the race in 17:55.0. The senior shaved another 1.4 seconds off the school record she set just two weeks earlier at the Royals XC Challenge in Charlotte.

The performance marked Fuel's third school-record effort of the season, having also broken her own program 6K record at the Furman Invitational on Sept. 12. She has now lowered the Lander 5K record twice this season and three times in her career.

The Bearcats placed four runners inside the top 20 and five inside the top 25, finishing with 58 points to claim second place in the 12-team field. USC Aiken won the team title with 47 points, while Lees-McRae finished third with 67.

Kayla Kerkofsky was the next Bearcat across the line, placing 10th with a personal-best time of 20:15.8. Madeline Beal followed in 12th at 20:40.3, recording a season-best performance.

Callie McElroy added another personal best, finishing 17th in 21:11.0, while Faye Brooks rounded out Lander's scoring five with a 23rd-place finish in a season-best 21:34.1.
Hannah Hall finished 34th in 22:18.0, followed by Kaelynn Larose in 43rd at 22:53.5, a season best. Nazareth Godinez completed the Bearcats' lineup with a 49th-place finish in 23:22.1.

Lander now turns its attention to the Peach Belt Conference Championships, scheduled for Nov. 7 in Macon, Georgia.