The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Cross Country Teams traveled to Wilmington, Ohio this past week to compete in the Wilmington Invitational on Friday, October 12, 2012 during their Fall Break.  The Cumberland men competed in the 8K event while the women's team competed in the 5K event.  Both the men and women's teams had several personal records and had some outstanding finishes. The men's team finished 3rd out of 34 schools while the women's team finished 6th out of 33 teams.

The ladies ran first and had perfect running weather as they took off at 4:30 P.M. For the 5K event, finishing first was Darcy Mascotti (Bellbrook, OH) who ran yet another personal record time breaking 18 minutes at 17:56. Mascotti's time broke last year's course record held by Sharon Ronoh of Lindsey Wilson which was 18:04, but Ronoh set a new course record of 17:11 this year.  Mascotti's time was still good enough to capture the runner up finish out of 340 competing ladies.  Finishing 14 seconds behind Mascotti was teammate Danielle Hoop (Owenton, KY) who finished third with a personal record time of 18:10.  Next up was Shelby Gibbons (Hamersville, OH) who finished in 78th place with a time of 20:20.  Christine Moon (Sardina, OH) followed suit behind Gibbons with a close 82nd place finish and a time of 20:24.  Finishing out the top five competitors for UC was Audrey Springer (Pataskala, OH) who finished in 110th place with a college best time of 20:45. 

The next competitor to cross the line for the Patriot ladies was Jennifer Marcum (Springsboro, OH) who finished with a time of 21:04, very close to breaking 21 minutes in 139th place.  Rounding out the top 7 in 159th place was senior Casey Richardson (Louisville, KY) who ran a final time of 21:21. Finishing next was Rebekah Henderson (Nicholasville, KY) who finished in 262nd place with a time of 23:13 followed by Brittany Bloyd (Louisville, KY) who finished with a final time of 23:22 in 270th place.  Deana Gabbard (Mt. Vernon, KY) rounded out the ladies finishes with a 27:51 finish earning her 332nd place.

The women's team placed 6th of 33 competing teams.  The Patriots scored a total of 250 points averaging a team time of 19:31.

The men's 8K gun fired off at 5:15 PM.  The first Patriot to cross the line was senior Landon Hamilton (Andover, OH) who ran a time of 25:28 and finished 12th overall.  Closely behind was Donald Whyte (Miamisburg, OH) who finished in 14th place with a time of 25:31.  Quickly following suit was Aundreas Lopez (Calistoga, CA) who finished with a time of 26:04 and came in a strong 31st place.  Following Lopez was Jonathan Gears (Andover, OH) who rounded off top 50 coming in 50th place with a time of 26:24.  Finishing out the top five competitors for the men's team was freshman Sam Meredith (Taylorsville, KY) who finished with a strong time of 26:32 in 64th place.

The next finisher to cross the line for the Patriots was Josh Moon (Batavia, OH) who ran a time of 27:37 finishing in 132nd place.  Devin Edwards (Corbin, KY) finished in 158th place with a personal record time of 27:55 to round out the top 7 finishers for UC.  Following closely behind was Eric Phillips (New Castle, KY) who finished in 165th place with a final time of 28:02.  Sophomore Ben Rawe (Melbourne, KY) finished next in 319th place with a time of 31:19 while Bradley Faulkner (Williamsburg, KY) finished nearly right behind Rawe running a 31:26 coming in 321st place.  Rounding out the race for the Patriots was Brandon Dugger (Williamsburg, KY) with a 361st place finish and a college best time of 34:36.

The men's team received 3rd place overall out of 34 other schools.  The Patriots scored 152 points averaging a time of 26 minutes flat.

Following the men's race, awards were given to the top 35 individual finishers along with the top two teams from each race.  Mascotti and Hoop received these honors for the Patriots women's team while Hamilton, Whyte, and Lopez of the men's team received these same honors.

The Patriots Cross Country team will compete in the Southeastern Classic hosted by Berea College on Saturday, October 20th, 2012.

For more information on the cross country team or Patriot athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com.

_{Article Provided by Danielle Hoop, University of the Cumberlands Multimedia and Athletic Services Student Assistant}