BMCU men fourth, women fifth at SSAC cross-country championships

Blue Mountain Christian University put a runner in the top 10 of each race Friday at the Southern States Athletic Conference cross-country championships in Clinton. The men finished fourth among 11 teams, and the women placed fifth among 10.

Jonah Barnhardt led the men with a personal-best 25:53.3 over 8 kilometers, placing 10th among 82 runners, according to BMCU’s men’s race report. Lukas Dykes followed in 18th at 26:41.9, a season best.

Erick Flores finished 30th in 28:34.1, Braxton Enzor was 33rd in 28:46.9 and Austin Ellis placed 38th in 29:07.5. The university reported four personal records and three season-best times across the men’s team.

In the women’s 6-kilometer race, Ella Shepherd finished eighth among 71 runners in 23:55.2. Kaedyn Wilson placed 12th in a season-best 24:25.9, according to the university’s women’s race report.

Lauren Paul, Ruth Hutchinson and Josie Meeks each posted personal bests, finishing 27th, 33rd and 42nd, respectively. Leah Montgomery added a season-best 29:41.4 in 57th place.

Featured image: File photo from an unrelated college cross-country meet, used for illustration. It does not depict BMCU or Friday’s races. Photo: Phil Roeder / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), as credited in the Tippah News media library.