KNOXVILLE, Tn. -- Both Men and Women's Cross Country teams finished in the top 10 of the NAIA Appalachian Challenge in Knoxville, Tn. on Friday morning.
In the 5K, the women placed eighth in the 23-team field, while the men finished 10th out of the 25 teams competing in the 8000-meter race.
Carson Milner led the Eagles men. He finished in the top 15 with a time of 24:41.8. On the women's side, Lexus Ralph once again showed out for the women, finishing in 19:06.7, placing her in 23rd out of the field.
Women's 5K
The Eagles team time was 1:39.43 which sets a new program record. It breaks the record that was held by the 2024 team at the same meet. The previous standard was 1:41.17.
Midway ended the day with a score of 241, good enough for eighth place. The Eagles were narrowly edged out by St. Thomas (Fla.) for seventh place by 10 points.
No. 3 Milligan took home the team championship, with 34 points. No. 25 Cumberlands and No. 13 Rio Grande were right behind them to round out the top three.
Ralph led the Eagles women with a 23rd place finish out of 199 racers.
Katelynn Gaddis finished right behind Ralph with a 29th-place finish. Gaddis ended the race with a time of 19:17.4, giving the Eagles two top-30 finishes.
Ariah Egleston was the third Eagle to cross the finish line. Egleston finished the 5K course in 19:41.1 and placed 41st.
Stevie McSorley and Emma Lesher rounded out the top 5 finishers for the Eagles women. McSorely finished in 64th place with a time of 20:03.7, while Lesher came in 125th with a time of 21:33.7.
Andrea Smith finished with a time of 22:19.1.
Men's 8K
The men's team finished 10th with 303 points.
No. 1 Cumberlands came away with the team victory with 22 points. They had five runners finish in the top eight. No. 8 Milligan and No. 6 UT Southern rounded out the top three team finishes.
Milner led the Eagles. His top 15 finish was done in 24:41, his best 8K time of the season so far.
Finley Mayoh was the second finisher for the Eagles. He crossed the finish line in 26:24.5 which was good enough for 46th place out of the 248 total men's racers.
Jonathan Kocis followed in 94th place. His time of 26:44.0 gave Midway three runners in the top 100.
Chance Collins and Adam Higgs rounded out the top 5 Eagles men's finishers. They finished with times of 26:53.5 and 27:11.3 respectively which was good for 104th place and 117th place.
Connor Byrd and Lance Logan both finished with identical times, only being separated by half a second. Byrd came in 153rd with a time of 27:42.3 and Logan was right behind him in 154th at 27:42.8.
Jesse Madden also competed for the Eagles, finishing in 163rd place with a time of 28:03.8.
Up Next
Both Men and Women's Cross Country teams will compete in the RSC XC Championships in Terre Haute, In. on Saturday, Nov. 7.
About Midway University Athletics
Midway University competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and its 29 athletics teams are part of the River States Conference, Mid-South Conference, the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, and USA Archery. For more information about Midway University Athletics, please visit www.gomidwayeagles.com or contact Tyler Beck at 859-846-5366.
