Men’s top runners keep it together

By Brandon Barber
Sports Editor

The men and women’s cross country teams both turned in another good performance at the Great American Cross Country Festival on Sept. 24 in Cary, N.C.

The men finished third out of 15 teams in the 8k race, coming in behind Johnson Community College and Cainisius College. The Braves totaled 109 points, only six points behind Cainisuius.

Photo Courtesy of UNCP Giovanni Bilotta finishes 21st.

“I thought the men ran very well in a highly competitive field of runners,” head coach Larry Rodgers said.

“Our top five runners were only 20 places apart out of a field of approximately 120 runners,” Rodgers said.

Freshman Kipp Maritim was the first Brave to cross the finish line, coming in 18th overall with a time of 27:16.

Maritim, who missed the first three meets of the year, was named Peach Belt Runner of the Week due to his team-leading performance.

Junior Giovanni Bilotta, who has been the top Braves runner three times this season, finished in 21st place overall, 19 seconds behind Maritim.

Freshman Grant Karshner, senior Jeriah Griswold and junior Antoine Stanley rounded out the top-five finishers for the Braves, finishing 26th, 30th and 39th, respectively.

The Braves have finished in the top-five in all four of their meets this year.

The women finished in sixth place out of 14 teams in the 5k race, compiling 139 points.

“I didn’t think our women ran as competitive as the men, but Katerina had a very good individual performance,” Rodgers said.

Junior Katerina Matousova led the Lady Braves with a time of 19:57, good for a ninth place finish overall.

Freshman Christina Moore finished in 26th place with a time of 21:17. It was the first meet for Moore this season.

Sophomore Jamie Vogt and freshmen Melissa Moore and Tierra McIntosh finished third through fifth for the Lady Braves.

Mercer University, C.W. Post College, Johnson Community College, Anderson College and Queens University all finished infront of UNCP.

Both teams will run at the Furman Invitational on Oct. 8 in Greenville, S.C.