HARDEEVILLE, SC – Paced by personal-best times by sophomore Christian England and senior Andrea Liddell, the Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams finished 11th and 14th respectively at the 13th-annual Sand Shark Invitational Meet on Saturday (Oct. 19).
England finished 41st as he completed the men's 8,000-meter race in 28:22.05. It marks the second time this season England has improved on his best time for that distance.
Senior Ivan Henderson was the second FMU runner as he placed 53rd with a time of 28:41.81. Sophomore Wyatt Witman finished in 63rd position, and like England lowered his personal-best time for the second time this year to 29:11.24. Sophomore Parker Calvert (29:29.28) came in 68th, followed by freshman Thomas Allen (31:48.89) in 101st, sophomore Anthony Melo (34:11.90) in 117th, and senior Robert Hahn (34:34.84) in 124th.
Liddell, a native of Manning, finished the 5,000-meter women's course in a personal-best time of 19:42.49 to finish in 25th position. It is the 13th fastest time in program history for 5,000-meters.
Freshman Angela Kasitz followed Liddell among the Patriot runners as she came in 62nd position with a time of 20:58.84. Other FMU runners were senior Emma Driggers (21:57.79) in 86th place, senior Alison Filer (22:58.52) in 99th, freshman Artiana Andrews (24:53.48) in 121st, senior Alexis Byers (25:28.20) in 133rd, and sophomore Taylor Boggs (32:55.94) in 149th.
SCAD Atlanta won both the men's and women's team titles, with team members Bryce Derick winning the men's race in 25:51.66 and Emily Kearney capturing the women's crown in 16:37.61
Both FMU squads will compete in the Peach Belt Conference Championship Meet on Saturday (Oct. 26) in Lumberton, N.C. The women's race will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the men's race at 10:15 a.m.