Beech Island, SC - The Oxford College of Emory University men's and women's cross country teams competed in their first event of the year at the Jaguar Cross Country Invitational hosted by NCAA Division II Augusta University. The women's team, who are looking to defend their national title, finished in third place. The men's team fell short of the required number of runners to score. 

In the men's 8k, sophomore Darren Ni led the way with a time of 33:21. Fellow sophomore Andrew Johnson finished in 35:41, while first-year runner Garrett Mallette finished in 35:55. Sophomore Tommy Pan was the only other men's runner in the race finishing with a time of 39:58. 

In the women's 5k, sophomores Joyce Zhang led the Eagles with a top 10 finishing time of 21:49. Classmate Sophia Lee finished in the top 15, running a 22:21. Freshmen Nancy Puente (22:53) and Madeleine Lepley (25:33) and Emily Wilhelm (23:12) rounded out the top five finishers for the team. 

The Eagles will return to action on Saturday, September 24th, at the Coach Gary Wilson Invitational.