WILSON, NC – The Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams placed second and sixth respectively at the Barton Bulldog Invitational Meet, Friday evening (Sept. 9).

Louisburg College won the men's 8,000-meter event, topping the Patriots 21-62.  Pfeiffer University placed third with 90 points, followed by Barton College (105), Methodist College (119), Shaw University (184), Winston-Salem State University (200), Fayetteville State University (206), and Chowan University (224).

Sophomore Carlos Oliver recorded a personal-best time of 27:26.55 to pace the Patriot men with a sixth-place showing – his second consecutive Top-10 finish.  Friday's effort shaved nearly 24 seconds off his previous-best time for 8,000-meters.

Junior Devin Nelson finished ninth in 28:05.35, followed by junior Javier Bustos Jaimes (28:18.03) in 10th, junior Jonathon Reid (personal-best time of 28:59.97) in 15th, and freshman Ivan Henderson (31:29.68) in 27th position.

Other FMU runners included sophomore Brandon Boggs (34:00.46) in 44th, senior Aaron Robinson (34:21.93) in 45th, sophomore Robert Hahn (34:49.85) in 47th, senior Jeremiah Hayes (34:58.04) in 49th, and sophomore Ben Bigelow (35:42.12) in 53rd place.

In the women's race, Pfeiffer claimed the team title, while the Patriots compiled 133 points to finish sixth in the 10-team field.

Freshman Emma Driggers finished 14th to lead the FMU runners.  She finished the 5,000-meter race in 22:06.76. 

Freshman Alexis Byers was 24th in 22:59.26, followed by junior MacKenzie Arnold (23:23.39) in 27th, freshman Alison Filer (23:51.88) in 29th, sophomore Gabrielle Gosnell (25:32.32) in 41st, senior Nicole Edlmann (28:02.96) in 55th, freshman Jasmine Watson (personal-best 30:01.49) in 68th, and senior Emmeline Wheeler (38:35.00) in 80th position.

The Francis Marion teams will return to the Tar Heel state on Sept. 17 to run in the Methodist College Invitational Meet in Fayetteville at 9:30 a.m.