CARY, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's cross country team won the Cedric Walker HBCU Challenge 8k race on Friday evening while the women's team finished second in the 5k race at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Before the Eagles lined up on the course, two seniors were honored. Taylor Hanson and Victoria Swepson
were celebrated for their outstanding careers at NC Central. Assistant coach Darnell Almanzar spoke briefly about the two, highlighting the fact that the staff had to recruit them virtually due to Covid-19 restrictions and how glad he was that they trusted the process and chose NCCU.
Following the presentation, the women's team warmed up and prepared to race. The six Eagles finished second behind only Fayetteville State University (48 points) and ahead of North Carolina A&T State University (80 points). NCCU scored 62 points which included two top-10 finishes.
Junior Laila Jackson finished fifth with a time of 19:31.1 for a personal record and close behind was sophomore Alitza Dennard in sixth running 19:32.0. Junior Kayla Johnson (20:34.5) and freshman Sharon Magut (20:41.9) finished 13th and 15th, respectively. Freshman Navi McDowell (23rd – 22:06.4) shaved off two minutes from the last time she ran on the same course in September. Hanson (37th – 23:17.3) rounded out the team performance for NC Central.
Fayetteville State (58 points) and North Carolina A&T (92 points) finished behind NCCU (33 points) in the men's 8k race. Freshman Meshack Kuyo won with a time of 24:11.3 and junior Emmanuel Paddyfote joined him finishing under 25 minutes as well for third (24:57.9), his best time in the event.
Joining the two in the top-10 were sophomore Ryan Chong running a personal record of 26:12.7 and sophomore Evans Kimutai at 26:37.0.
Senior Sebastian Dozier finished 11th in his first race as an Eagle with a time of 26:37.0. Junior Corey Little completed the race in 27:56.0 for 20th place. Freshman Wesley Kibet (31st – 29:22.6) and junior Octavious Smith (32nd – 29:31.2) completed the team of Eagles.
The next time NC Central races is on Friday, Oct. 11 at the Royals XC Challenge in Charlotte, N.C. hosted by Queens University at McAlpine Creek Park.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
