Pelletier Leads Lady Flames To Second Place Finish
CARY, NC -- Liberty freshman Josh McDougal won his fourth-consecutive race, while senior Samantha Pelletier placed seventh to help the Lady Flames finish second overall at the Great American Cross Country Festival held at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., Friday afternoon.McDougal bested the field of some of the top runners in the county by over 12 seconds over his nearest competitor as he won the 8k race with a time of 24:00.91, finishing just ahead of New Mexico's Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott (24:12.48), Michigan's Nate Branner (24:25.89) and N.C. State's Bobby Mack (24:26.21).
The men's team finished 16th out of 19 teams overall in the Elite Nike ROC race, while Michigan finished five points ahead of N.C. State to claim the men's team championship.
Also finishing for the Flames was Evan Falat, who placed 78th with a time of 26:25.23, Clint Jackson, who placed 97th with a time of 26:46.07, Jason Brown, who placed 113th with a time of 27:06.01, Christian Nichols, who placed 116th with a time of 27:17.11, Chris Lyons, who placed 128th with a time of 27:54.70, and Drew Ponder, who placed 129th with a time of 27:56.28.
Pelletier was joined by Sarah Roberts in the Top 10 as Pelletier finished seventh with a time of 18:48.30, while Roberts placed ninth with a time of 18:56.24.
The Lady Flames finished second out of 13 teams in the 6k Seeded University division, while fellow Big South team High Point, finished 17 points ahead of them to claim the women's team championship.
Also placing for the Lady Flames was Danielle Jordan, who finished 12th with a time of 19:06.53, Melissa Blackstone, who finished 26th with a time of 19:40.78, Asia Ramey, who placed 32nd with a time of 19:53.07, Carol Jefferson, who placed 35th with a time of 19:57.39, and Piper Newby, who placed 48th with a time of 20:37.74.
McDougal and the Flames will have one final tune-up before the Big South Championship as both the men's and women's teams will compete at the East Carolina Pirate Invitational in Greenville, S.C., on October 16. The race is set to begin at 10:15 a.m.