Men's 'Gold' Team Brings Home Just That At Mount Olive Invitational

MOUNT OLIVE – The UNCP men's cross country team broke into two teams, 'Black' and 'Gold' on Friday afternoon at the Mount Olive Invitational 8K to take on five other teams. UNCP's Gold team paced the event to take home the gold while their teammates brought in a fourth place finish.

The Gold team included UNCP runners Pardon Ndhlovu, Steven Merritt, Zachary Bayless, Kevin Clancy, Cedric Wilson, Christian Wiscovitch and Daniel Yeakley. Runners Thomas McDonough, Darius Brantley, Chris Midgette, Jonathan Williams, Brandon Fulford, Kaleb Mersha, Clayton Pierce and Cory Cox rounded out the Black team.

Ndhlovu, a freshman, paced both the Black and Gold teams, finishing third overall with 27:39, Ndholvu trailed Bear Maloney of Mount Olive who ran a 27:17, placing second, and Doug Holt of St. Andrews who took home first with a 27:01.

UNCP showed their strength at the invitational – placing three more runners into the top 10 with their captain, Ndhlovu. Merritt, who finished second for the Braves and seventh overall in 28:17, was followed closely by Bayless who posted a 28:22 for an eighth place finish and Clancy who rounded out the top 10 with a 28:43.

McDonough paced the UNCP Black team, finishing sixth for the Braves and 12th overall in 29:15. He was followed by Brantley, who finished 22nd overall in 29:29.95.

UNCP's Gold team made good on their name and captured first place standings at the invitational with just 39 points, while their teammates on the Black team raked in 96. Sandwiched between the Braves in the rankings were St. Andrews, who finished third with 61 points, and Mount Olive who finished second with 45 points.

The Braves will take a week off to train before they host the Peach Belt Conference Championship meet on their home course, Luther Britt Park in Lumberton, on October 24. The championships are set to begin at 8:30 a.m. with the men's race, and continue at 9:15 when the women take to the course.

UNCP RESULTS:

Pardon Ndhlovu (3rd, 27:39.00)
Steven Merritt (7th, 28:17.00)
Zachary Bayless (8th, 28:22.00)
Kevin Clancy (10th, 28:43.00)
Cedric Wilson (11th, 28:59.00
Thomas McDonough (12th, 29:15.00)
Darius Brantley (14th, 29:29.06)
Christian Wiscovitch (17th, 29:39.00)
Chris Midgette (21st, 30:27.00)
Daniel Yeakley (22nd, 30:53.00)
Jonathan Williams (23rd, 30:56.00)
Brandon Fulford (26th, 31:13.00)
Kaleb Mersha (32nd, 32:04.00)
Clayton Pierce (35th, 32:46.00)
Cory Cox (37th, 33:14.00)