Men's Cross Country | 2/13/2021 4:36:00 PM
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - Phil White and
Hannah Kemp were individual champions and the West Liberty University cross country squads overcame brutal conditions here Saturday in an impressive spring season debut at the North Carolina Wesleyan Classic.
A hard cold rain soaked the course and a winter weather advisory was in effect for freezing rain in the area but head coach
Justin Simpson's men's and women's teams more than rose to the challenge.
White led a virtual Hilltopper sweep in the 5K men's race. Coming back off a redshirt season, the sophomore showed no ill effects in splashing his way across the finish line in a brisk 15:57.5.
Danah Phillips and
Michael Harriman gave West Liberty a sweep of the top three spots while
Brenden Sands and
Jared Ullom also notched Top 10 finishes as the Black and Gold easily took the team title. West Liberty finished with 22 points with NCAA Division I UNC-Wilmington a distant second at 47. Methodist (68), William Peace (108) and North Carolina Wesleyan (123) completed the list.
West Liberty and UNC-Wilmington were the only schools to field full women's teams for their 5K race. UNC-Wilmington took four of the top five spots to claim the team title but the No. 1 spot was all Kemp as the All-Region sophomore ran away from the pack.
Kemp was the only runner to break 20 minutes on the women's side and did so with ease at 19:22.5. Teammates
Emily Louk and
Nichole Groseclose backed Kemp with Top 10 finishes.
The Hilltopper teams will be hoping for warmer and drier weather when they return to the trails on Feb. 26 in the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by the University of Charleston at Coonskin Park in Charleston.
CROSS COUNTRY
North Carolina Wesleyan
Cross Country Classic
(at Rocky Mount, N.C.)
MEN
Team Scoring
1. WEST LIBERTY 22; 2. UNC-Wilmington 47; 3. Methodist 68; 4. William Peace 108; 5. North Carolina Wesleyan 123
West Liberty Individuals
1. Phil White 15:57.5; 2.
Danah Phillips 16:32.0; 3.
Michael Harriman 16:36.0; 6.
Brenden Sands 16:46.9; 10.
Jared Ullom 17:18.4; 11.
Cole Wright 17:25.0; 12.
Tavian Richardson 17:29.3
WOMEN
Team Scoring
1. UNC-Wilmington 21;
2. WEST LIBERTY 40
West Liberty Individuals
1.
Hannah Kemp 19:22.5; 6.
Emily Louk 21:24.2; 10.
Nichole Groseclose 22:38.0; 11.
Savannah Moorehead 23:10.7; 12.
Shania Keene 23:33.6; 13.
Grace Henley 24:36.1; 14.
Blake Hull 25:02.3
