Carrolton, GA - The Emory Oxford cross country teams traveled to compete in the Coach Gary Wilson Invitational hosted by the University of West Georgia. The 8th ranked men's cross country team finished in third place, one spot ahead of fellow Region 17 foes, and 7th-ranked, Georgia Military College. The women's team was unable to score due to not having enough runners to qualify as a team.
In the men's 8k race, seven Eagles finished the race and were led by Aaron Li, who finished in sixth place with a time of 28:04.92. Darren Ni finished with a time of 30:10.25, which was good for a top-20 finish. Eli Heanue (30:21.26) and Alex Lucas (30:52.69) also finished in the top-20. With a time of 30:55.31, lone sophomore Colin Wells finished a spot outside of the top-20, while teammate Andrew Johnson (30:57.92) finished right after Wells. Donovan Sheppard was the final Eagle to finish the race with a time of 35:51.50.
Only four Eagles finished in the women's 5k race, one short of qualifying for a team score. First-year Alex Bryant led the Eagles with a top-20 finishing time of 21:06.44. Two other Eagles finished with sub-22 times, fellow freshman Sophia Lee and Emily Wilhelm. Sophomore Sarah Davis finished with a time of 22:06.62.
"Both of our teams were strong today, especially with a strong field in both races," commented Coach Ella O'Kelley. "We are working hard on both sides and it is showing with the way we are finishing these races."
The Eagles will compete in the Alexander/Asics Invitational in Douglasville, GA. Races are set to begin at 8:00 AM.