RADFORD, Va. – The Radford University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams opened the 2022 campaign with the Radford Relays on Thursday evening. The Highlanders dominated the day, taking the victory in both the men's and women's relay. Radford captured three of the top four spots as a team on the men's side while the women registered teams that took each of the top three finishing positions.
Radford welcomed Longwood University and Winthrop University as each school competed with multiple teams. Each squad consisted of three student-athletes, with all three runners covering 3,100 meters.
MEN'S RESULTS
The team of
Clay Kelly (9:47.6),
Nick McCumsey (9:58.3) and
Liam McDonald (9:56.8) claimed first place with a time of 29:42.7 as a team. The underclassmen trio was the only team that posted sub-ten-minute times for all three splits and a sub-30-minute time as a group.
The Highlanders claimed three of the top four spots in the meet, in large part to impressive performances from the team of
Benji Pinckney (9:45.1),
Owen Lindsay (10:29.2) and
Luke Richards (10:12.4) for a total of 30:26.6 as a team. Pinckney's first leg was good enough for Radford's top split of the day.
A team time of 30:39.9 from
Sam Sikora (9:47),
Alejo Cobos (10:05.4), and
Noah York (10:47.6) helped Radford seal three teams in the top four in the Highlanders' first outing of the season.
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Radford swept the podium, led by the trio of
MegAnne Gilmore (11:34.4),
MacKenzie Gardner (11:59.2) and
Megan Cash (12:26.4) who broke the 36-minute mark with a time of 35:59.9.
A first leg from
Lucy Thornton (11:25.5) was the fastest split of the race while her teammates
Natalie Preston (12:34.4) and
Savannah Hoff (12:11) contributed with times that gave Radford second place as well.
Fellow Highlanders
Kate McLearen (11:53.2),
Chloe Wellings (11:20.3) and
Reagan Patterson (13:28.8) tallied a team time of 36:42.2 to round out the top three.
UP NEXT
Radford will see Longwood in action again soon. The Highlanders travel east to Farmville, Va. to compete in the Lancer Invite. The meet, hosted by Longwood, is set for Saturday, Sept. 10.
FOLLOW RADFORD CROSS COUNTRY
For more updates on the Radford Cross Country program, check out RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordTrackXC on Twitter as well as @radfordtrackxc on Instagram and Radford Track and Field and Cross Country on Facebook.
