BOONE, N.C. – In their first meet of the season, the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's and women's cross country teams took part in the Firetower Project Run where the men placed fifth and the women finished seventh overall.

MEN'S TEAM
On the men's side, Appalachian State earned the team title with 20 points, while Charlotte followed in second with 50 points, and East Carolina University rounded out the top three with 73 points.

With three Spartans finishing in the top 30, UNCG placed fifth with 129 points.

Graduate student Joseph Thoma led the Spartans with his 17th-place finish with a time of 26:20.27 in the eight-kilometer race.

Freshman Evan Pena and graduate student Dylan Christopher battled it out for the next team points as they crossed the finish. Pena, who earned a 29th-place finish in his first-collegiate meet, edged Christopher by .33 hundredths of a second, who finished 30^th out of 93 competitors. The two finished with times of 26:52.61 and 26:52.94, respectively.

Sophomore Ethan Long, freshman Luke Ward, and sophomore Colin Keck were right behind, placing 32^nd, 34^th, and 36^th.
 
Freshmen Jack Burgener, Lane Prochaska, Zachary Taylor, and Charles Bennett all made their first appearances for the Spartans, placing 56^th, 60^th, 68^th, and 81^st.
 
Sophomore Mason Rudel finished in 65^th place, while junior Jonathan Kennedy placed 83^rd in the first cross-country meet of his career.

WOMEN'S TEAM
UNCG clocked in a total of 170 points, taking home seventh overall. Charlotte earned the team title with a total of 22 points, as it posted six finishes in the top 10. Appalachian State was the runner-up with 71 points, and the College of Charleston totaled 115 points, rounding out the top-three teams.

Junior Jenna Reiter led the Spartans with a 29th-place finish with a time of 18:48.77 in the five-kilometer race.

Sophomore Camille Carlson was the next Spartan to cross the line coming in 34th-place, clocking in her career-best time of 18:58.50. Freshman Victoria Sosa was close behind in 45th-place with a time of 19:31.80 in her first-collegiate race.

Sophomore Bella Manfre rounded out the top 50 with a new career-best time of 19:42.75. Following behind was graduate student Chandler McCaslin and sophomore Layla Burk placing 57^th and 66^th, respectively.

Freshman Kaitlyn Harrison and sophomore Serena Henderson rounded out the Spartans finishes, coming in 85^th and 97^th, respectively.
 
UP NEXT:
The Spartans will take some time off before refocusing on the Royals Challenge on Friday, October 7 hosted by Queens University of Charlotte.