KIDANU, BURTON PACE RADFORD AT VERTCROSS INVITATIONAL

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KERNERSVILLE, N.C. – Ashenafi Kidanu posted his third straight personal best and was Radford's top finisher for the first time, while Courtney Burton led the Highlander women at the VertCross Invitational Friday evening.

After cutting his 8K time by 20 seconds two weeks ago, Kidanu took nearly 30 seconds off that performance by clocking 26:07.73, good enough to put in the top 20 percent of the 234-runner field at 41st overall.

Junior Haben Zemichael crossed the line second for the Highlanders and also bettered his 8K time for the third meet in a row. He placed 59th overall with a time of 26:23.15, just under 25 seconds better than two weeks ago. Frisco Poole, who led the team in his first two races this year, was next with a time of 26:54.04.

Ryan Small cracked with Radford's top-five with a personal-best time of 27:10.00, while Cameron Mims rounded out the scorers in a time of 27:33.49.

The Highlanders took 11th place out of 22 total teams and second among the six Big South schools. Radford was just High Point, which took ninth overall and well ahead of the other four conference foes.

Meanwhile, Burton crossed the line first for Radford for the third time in four races this season, clocking 23:46.75 to finish 77th in the 207-runner runner field. The time was .05 seconds better than her first 6K of the season.

Courtney Rice was close behind in 83rd position with a time of 23:55.04, followed by Mariah Quintero, who finished in 24:19.09.

Percie Lyons and Allison Brennan both cut their personal-best 6K times while rounding out the top five. Lyons clocked 24:44.90, while Brennan took almost 40 seconds off her previous low with a time of 25:01.33.

As a team, Radford placed 15th overall and third among the six Big South competitors.

The Highlanders will now prepare the conference championships, set for Oct. 28 in Asheville, N.C.

"With our last opportunity to prove ourselves prior to the Big South Championships behind us, we look forward to putting everything together on the right day," Radford head coach Eric Thatcher said.

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Players Mentioned

Allison Brennan: Dis.; 5' 5"; Sophomore

Courtney Burton: Dis.; 5' 10"; Senior

Percie Lyons: Dis.; 5' 2"; Sophomore

Courtney Rice: Dis.; 5' 6"; Senior

Mariah Quintero: Dis.; 5' 2"; Junior

Ashenafi Kidanu: Dis.; 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Cameron Mims: Dis.; 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Ryan Small: Dis.; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

Frisco Poole: Dis.; 5' 9"; Junior

Haben Zemichael: Dis.; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Allison Brennan
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: Dis.

Courtney Burton
: 5' 10"; Senior
: Dis.

Percie Lyons
: 5' 2"; Sophomore
: Dis.

Courtney Rice
: 5' 6"; Senior
: Dis.

Mariah Quintero
: 5' 2"; Junior
: Dis.

Ashenafi Kidanu
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: Dis.

Cameron Mims
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: Dis.

Ryan Small
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: Dis.

Frisco Poole
: 5' 9"; Junior
: Dis.

Haben Zemichael
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Dis.