HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The University of Alabama in Huntsville used its home course at John Hunt Park on Saturday for one last regular-season test, hosting a crowded Chargers XC Invitational that drew dozens of teams and several nationally ranked programs to Huntsville.
The UAH men came in 12th in a 40-team field, and the women placed 15th among 38 squads.
Lindsey Barnes led the Charger women, covering the course in 22:06.2 to take 47th among 373 scoring runners. Rose Betts was next for UAH in 76th at 22:25.5, and Tamsyn Gibbs added a 90th-place run in 22:36.7. Sarah Hertz in 106th and Anna Katherine Hopkins in 112th completed the scoring five.
The women’s team gained ground as the race went on, sitting 18th as a group at the 2,210-meter split and 17th at 3,765 meters before finishing 15th. Betts and Barnes both went through that first split in under eight minutes.
On the men’s side, a field of 460 runners took on the 8K course. Dakota Frank paced UAH in 52nd with a time of 24:48.8, and teammate Conner Patterson crossed one spot and about a second later. Cole Robinson placed 66th, Aaron Ashley 89th and Jackson Griggs 108th to round out the scoring group.
The competition at the top was steep. Six teams in the field carried national rankings in Division II, and No. 6 Lee won the men’s team title, with No. 16 Charleston of West Virginia second and No. 17 Tampa third. Cedarville, one of the visiting programs, finished 19th among the 40 men’s teams.
UAH now turns to the postseason. The Chargers race next at the Gulf South Conference Championships in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday, Nov. 6.
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