Ndhlovu Continues Winning Streak

PEMBROKE – Freshman Pardon Ndhlovu continued to outrun his competition, taking top honors for the third time in as many meets at the East Carolina Pirate Invitational on Saturday morning and leading UNCP’s men’s cross country team to a second place finish at the event.

Ndhlovu posted a 25:15 8K at the event, making him the third-fastest 8K runner in UNCP history (Jay Jones 24:45 in 1987, Mike Jimenez 25:07 in 2002). He was followed by sophomore Christian Wiscovitch (27:19) who placed second for the Braves and ninth overall. Rounding out the top three for the Black and Gold was freshman Zachary Bayless (27:39) who crossed 13th overall.

UNCP placed second in the invitational with 57 points, holding Campbell to 67 points and Mount Olive to 88 points. Dillon Hawley posted a time of 25:49 to pace East Caroline who took home the gold with its team score of 25 points.

The Braves will have a week free of competition before they travel to Cary to compete in the Great American Cross Country Invitational. The invitational will be held on October 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park and is set to begin at 5 p.m.

UNCP Results:
- Pardon Ndhlovu (1st, 25:15)
- Christian Wiscovitch (9th, 27:19)
- Zachary Bayless (13th, 27:39)
- Steven Merritt (16th, 27:56)
- Cedric Wilson (20th, 28:16)
- Daniel Yeakley (21st, 28:30)
- Darius Brantley (23rd, 28:35)
- Chris Midgette (25th, 29:01)
- Thomas McDonough (26th, 29:42)
- Kaleb Mersha (28th, 29:57)
- Jonathan Williams (30th, 30:08)
- Cory Cox (35th, 31:36)