BETHANY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University men's cross country team turned in a strong performance on Thursday, racing to a second-place team finish at the West Liberty Invitational hosted at Bethany College.

The Hilltoppers posted a team score of 64 points, finishing behind only Charleston (44) and ahead of Mountain East rival Glenville State (86) in the eight-team field.

Freshman Joshua Gill led the way for WLU with a standout effort, clocking 19:17.2 to place 6th overall in the 6K race. Senior Francis Toohey wasn't far behind, crossing in 10th (19:31.1), while fellow senior Robert Allen finished 11th (19:32.2) just one second back.

Rounding out the Hilltoppers' scoring five were senior Jasper Brown in 15th (19:39.1) and freshman Michael Niggemyer, who took 22nd (20:01.4). Freshman Finlay Lorimer (25th, 20:07.1) and Christian Rutherford (39th, 21:01.1) added depth to the Black and Gold lineup.

Charleston freshman Harry Witt captured the individual title with a winning time of 18:54.1.

The Hilltoppers will look to build on their strong showing when they return to the Bethany course, September 13th in the Bethany Invitational.