SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior Rachel Ozio and sophomore Emmanuel Paddyfote are the first two Eagles to ever cross the finish line at an NCAA Division I Southeast Regional as they represented the North Carolina Central University cross country team as individual participates at the 2023 Southeast Regional hosted by USC Upstate at the Milliken Research Park on Friday.
 
Ozio finished in the upper half of the field, completing the women's 6k in 21:58.1. She finished 118th overall out of 243 finishers in the women's competition that took place first.
 
Ozio, who lives in Rolesville, North Carolina, was the 2023 MEAC Women's Cross Country Championship runner-up to earn her opportunity to toe the line at the Southeast Regional.
 
Paddyfote hit the course after Ozio in the men's 10k, which his first time competing at that increased cross country distance at the collegiate level. He completed his competition in 34:06.6 to place 201st out of 228 finishers.
 
Paddyfote, who is a resident Belmont, North Carolina, has earned All-MEAC honors in each of his first two seasons representing the Eagles on the way to earning his groundbreaking appearance at the regional.
 
NC Central has been a full NCAA Division I member since 2011-12 and Ozio and Paddyfote were NCCU's first two finishers at the Southeast Regional since that point.
 
Graduate student Laderique McNeill also started the 10k, but he was one of nine runners that did not finish the race.
 
The 2023 NCAA Southeast Regional featured runners from 42 institutions that were trying to qualify for the NCAA National Championship. Second-ranked North Carolina State University won the women's race while fifth-ranked University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won the men's competition.
 
The NCCU cross country and track & field programs will next gear up for its indoor season. The 2023-24 NCCU indoor schedule will be released on NCCUEaglePride.com soon.
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.