Cabusao Sets 8K Program Record, Highlanders Earn Top 10 Team Finishes at Upstate Invite

Saturday, October 17

Spartanburg, S.C.

9:00 AM

Radford University

Upstate Invite

Final Results

Photo by: Radford Athletics Communications

Cabusao Sets 8K Program Record, Highlanders Earn Top 10 Team Finishes at Upstate Invite

10/17/2026 12:06:00 PM | Cross Country

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Racing against some stiff competition, the Radford men's and women's cross country teams showed what they are capable of, with the men's team taking seventh place (out of 37 teams) and the women's team placing 10th (out of 32) at the Upstate Invite on Saturday morning.

The morning was highlighted by Azrael Cabusao setting a new men's 8K school record, with his time of 24:33.9 beating the previous record of 24:34.8 set by Maxton Sowers on Oct. 19, 2024, at the Roanoke XC Invite.

"Our guys did a great job pushing in the middle of the race and staying confident in their ability," said Distance Coach Stephen Howard. "We knew it was going to be a really quick start, but they didn't panic. We've been having to rein it in a bit in practice, so I'm excited that they got the chance to show what they were capable of. It's a rare day when an entire team sets personal bests, and I couldn't be more proud of the way they raced."

The men's team's performance was outstanding, as they placed second among six Big South teams and finished ahead of other strong mid-major programs, such as Coastal Carolina (8^th), College of Charleston (10^th), ETSU (11^th), and Mercer (12^th).

Individually, all nine Highlander men set new personal records (PRs) at the 8K distance. Cabusao took 21st overall in his record-setting time. Not far behind the New Zealander was sophomore Spencer Thacker, who's time of 24:51.0 placed the Hidden Valley High School alum 31st overall. Thacker's time also puts him sixth on the Radford all-time list. Freshman Tristan Fancher was the top finishing underclassman for Radford, who took 45th with a time of 25:10.0 – ninth on the Radford all-time 8K list.

Rounding out the Radford scoring runners were Quinlan Beegle, who placed 51st with a time of 25:14.1, and freshman Grayson Norris, who took 67th with a time of 25:28.2.

While not counting to the team's score, the final four runners for Radford on the men's side were Logan Wheelock (75th, 25:33.3), Logan Hamilton (98th, 25:59.1), Jack Jeffries (108th, 26:09.7), and Joel Williams (139th, 26:31.6). They also set new PRs on Saturday – making it a perfect nine-for-nine for the team.

"The girls had a strong showing, especially running on tired legs," began Howard on the women's team. "They did a good job working together in groups and had fantastic moves on the finishing hill. Kayla (Fields) has been recovering from illness, so for her to PR was exciting. What really impressed me today was Cora Gentzel! She has a habit of running really hard early, but held on really well."

In the women's 5K race, Kayla Fields was spectacular once again. The senior led the Highlanders with a 26th place finish in a PR time of 18:11.1. To put it in perspective, Fields' performance on Saturday was a 30+ place (and 35 seconds) improvement from her last meet at Upstate as a freshman.

Also setting a PR was sophomore Cora Gentzel, who took 70th with a time of 18:54.9. Allison Nelson was close behind in 75th (18:59.6), cutting off 20 seconds from her last meet. Katelyn Campbell's time of 19:10.2 was a PR for the junior and gave her 90th overall, while Teagan Gilhooly's time of 19:11.7 was a PR for the freshman and gave her 93rd to wrap up Radford's scoring runners.

Closing out the 10 Radford runners were Kaylie Dziedzina (97th, 19:14.4, new Radford best), Faith Thomas (103rd, 19:19.1, first 5K finish at Radford), Emma Shirey (132nd, 19:46.6), Kaley Tanner (137th, 19:51.4, first 5K at Radford), and Claire Keefe (20:41.2).

Like the men, the women's team was the second-highest finisher among Big South programs.

No. 30 Duke took the top spot on the women's 5K race, while Charleston Southern took the top spot in the men's 8K race.

UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to Spartanburg on Friday, October 30 for the Big South Championship Meet. The women's 5K race begins at 9:00 a.m., and the men's 8K race is set for 9:45 at the Milliken Research Center.

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