ROCK HILL, S.C. – The top two finishers for both the North Carolina Central University men's and women's cross teams were within seconds of each other to highlight competition for the Eagles at the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational on Saturday morning.
 
Sophomore Emmanual Paddyfote (28:05) and freshman Ryan Chong (28:06) were just over one second apart in pacing the Eagles to the finish line in the men's 8k race that took place first at the Winthrop Farm Cross Country Course.
 
A little while later, sophomore Gianna Marquez (20:51) and junior Zinash Valen had the top NCCU performances for the women's 5k race, completing that 3.1-mile race within nine seconds of each other.
 
Winthrop was hosting the races for the 39th time, but NCCU was making it first appearance in the long-running event since fully joining the NCAA Division I level at the start of the 2011 cross country season.
 
Both maroon and gray programs picked up wins against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foe South Carolina State University while the men's team also placed ahead of Gardner-Webb University in taking fifth place overall out of seven teams. The women only had five finishers and settled for sixth out of seven squads.
 
Paddyfote, an All-MEAC cross country award winner as a rookie last season, has raced to the top men's result in each of NCCU's first three events in 2023. Paddyfote finished 35th out of 67 total finishers, including 21st out of 46 runners that counted towards team scoring.
 
Chong was one spot behind Paddyfote in 36th position. Chong and freshman Donald Moore (29:23) were racing in their first collegiate 8k's after NCCU started the season with a 5k and a 6k. Sophomore Corey Little (29:06) and graduate student Laderique McNeill (29:52) both provided scoring times for the Eagles.
 
Marquez slipped inside the upper half of the field with a 30th place result out of 61 finishers while Valen posted a 34th place finish.
 
Sophomore Laila Jackson (22:03), sophomore Jadiza Jimenez (22:30) and junior Taylor Hanson (23:32) concluded NCCU's competition on the day.
 
NC Central will next race in the Cedric Walker HBCU Challenge as part of the Great American Cross Country Festival at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, on Friday, Oct. 6.
 
NCCU WOMEN'S 5K RESULTS (61 Finishers)
30. Gianna Marquez (20:51.1)
34. Zinash Valen (21:00.5)
46. Laila Jackson (22:03.2)
50. Jadiza Jimenez (22:30.1)
53. Taylor Hanson (23:32.3)
 
NCCU MEN'S 8K RESULTS (67 Finishers)
35. Emmanuel Paddyfote (28:05.2)
36. Ryan Chong (28:06.7)
44. Corey Little (29:06.0)
47. Donald Moore (29:23.8)
49. Laderique McNeill (29:52.5)
67. Ocir Black (40:13.8)
 
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