Men second; Women third at Erskine XC Invitational

DUE WEST, S.C. - The Newberry College cross country teams had another strong showing in their second race of the season, with the men finishing in second place and the women in third place at the Erskine College Invitational on Friday afternoon.

Men
The Wolves finished in second place with 54 points, led by two runners in the top six of the race. Erskine won the meet, with their top five placers in the top seven, broken up only by Newberry runners.

Nathan Collier (Weatherford, Texas) was once again Newberry's top finisher, finishing in third place with a time of 20:41 over the 6-kilometer course. Justin Golay (Springfield, Mo.) was in sixth place with a time of 21:21. Alex Halshoe (Hopkins, Mich.) was just outside of the top 10 in 11th place with a time of 22:26.

Austin Sorensen (Murrieta, Calif.) was in 16th place with a time of 24:26, and Travis Laxton (Live Oak, Fla.) rounded out Newberry scorers in 18th place at 27:22. Davis Bagwell (Oak Mountain, Ala.) came in with a time of 30:19 to finish in 22nd place.

This is the second season Newberry had an individual come in third place at the Erskine meet, as Brad House did so on an 8-K course in 2010.

Team Results
1. Erskine, 19
2. Newberry, 54
3. Southern Wesleyan, 55
4. Paine, 107

Individual Results
3. Nathan Collier, 20:41
6. Justin Golay, 21:21
11. Alex Halshoe, 22:26
16. Austin Sorensen, 24:26
18. Travis Laxton, 27:22
22. Davis Bagwell, 30:19

Women
Two top 10 runners helped the Wolves' women to a third place finish in a competitive 4-kilometer race. Kelley Strong (Union, S.C.) finished in sixth place at 17:14 to turn in Newberry's quickest time.

Nicole Whittle (Port Richey, Fla.) finished in 10th place in a photo finish with Southern Wesleyan's Allison Droddy at 17:25. Rebecca Eddy (Eugene, Ore.) was in 12th place at 17:57, while Stephanie Powell (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Ariel Strong (Cassatt, S.C.) finished in 16th and 17th place.

Southern Wesleyan won the team race with 49 points, with Erskine in second at 55 points and Newberry third with 59.

Team Scores
1. Southern Wesleyan, 49
2. Erskine, 55
3. Newberry, 59
4. USC Aiken, 78
5. Paine, 94

Individual Times
6. Kelley Strong, 17:14
10. Nicole Whittle, 17:25
12. Rebecca Eddy, 17:57
16. Stephanie Powell, 19:11
17. Ariel Strong, 19:15
29. Hannah Rohrer, 21:40
30. Rachel McFall, 22:49

Next Up
The Wolves will next race at the Bridgestone-Pacer Invitational hosted by USC Aiken at their Pacer Path on Saturday, September 17. The men's 8-kilometer race is set to begin at 9 a.m., with the women's 6-kilometer run at 9:45 a.m.