BPC Hosts 1st Cross County Meet

Courtesy of BPC

Brewton-Parker College Cross Country ran in familiar territory as they hosted the Brewton-Parker Invitational on Friday evening for the program’s first-ever home meet.

Women

Brewton-Parker College Women’s Cross Country stayed on campus for the program’s first-ever home meet in Mount Vernon on Friday evening.

The Lady Barons were highlighted by a pair of top-10 finishes while securing fourth on home soil, hosting a total of eight schools for the 5K race.

“Very exciting day for our program,” Head Coach James Frank said. “It was great having hometown support cheering us on. I believe our girls did a great job representing our campus, they ran a solid race on our home course.”

BPC was led by Karen Garcia, who secured fifth place in the 39-runner field, crossing the finish line with a time of 23:55.46. Garcia was followed by Jayda Spikes, who secured 10th with a time of 25:31.87 to surpass her collegiate-best time by nearly a minute.

Jaleah Rhett completed the race in a time of 28:36.11 for 24th and was followed by Anders Ignoffo in 29th with a time of 30:17.31. Kayla Phipps rounded out the Lady Barons in 33rd, finishing with a time of 33:42.46.

Men

Brewton-Parker College Men’s Cross Country ran in familiar territory as they hosted the Brewton-Parker Invitational on Friday evening for the program’s firstever home meet.

The Barons were able to defend home soil and secure the team title in a dominating fashion over seven other schools that were represented in the 8K race in Mount Vernon.

“I’m thrilled about today’s result,” Head Coach James Frank said. “The guys did well today. They ran a smart race, and it paid off.”

“We had a handful of personal bests, and it was great that we were able to run in front of a home crowd this evening,” Frank added. “Very thankful for all who supported us today.”

A total of ten Barons competed in the 46-man field, four of which finished in the top 10 individually. DeMario Thomas led BPC with a time of 29:10.90 to finish third while DJ Christensen was right behind, crossing the line at 29:15.04 for a fourth-place finish and for a new collegiate-best time.

Jonah Galli finished the race in sixth place with a time of 29:20.53, beating his previous personal best by 40 seconds. Gabriel Wrye rounded out the top ten with a 10thplace finish, recording a time of 30:04.89.

Wrye was followed by Jordan Hackett (11th, 30:10.35) and Eric Smith (12th, 30:18.77), who both got new personal bests. Brandon Williams (18th, 32:18.33) came in next, with Jabril Muhammad (24th, 34:02.21) behind him. Trey Reid (33rd, 37:08.99) and Anthony Ferrie (36th, 38:21.19) rounded out the race for the Barons.

The Barons will be back in action this Saturday at the Alexander ASICS XC Invitational hosted by Clayton State (Ga.).