MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Mississippi College men's and women's cross country teams both turned in top-four team finishes on Saturday morning at the Rhodes Invitational, running against a competitive field of NCAA Division I and Division II opponents.
The Choctaw women earned a third-place team finish in the 5-kilometer race with 80 points, trailing only Arkansas State (40) and host Rhodes (74).
Kaydi Blanchard led MC with a 14th-place showing in 19 minutes, 21.58 seconds. She was followed closely by Bre Bell in 15th (19:23.77), Lauren Wallace in 16th (19:23.88), Isabella Bailey in 19th (19:26.75) and Andi Kate Holley in 21st (19:30.26) to complete the scoring five. Both Bailey and Holley achieved lifetime bests in the performance.
Catherine Wallace (24th, 19:41.81) and Shana Sellers (32nd, 20:05.17) completed the top seven. Other Choctaw finishers included Taylor Benoit (33rd, 20:05.58), Lilly Jensen (37th, 20:19.08), Kate Finch (41st, 20:37.56), Audrey Mayatte (42nd, 20:38.11), Kinley Harris (45th, 20:47.83), Gabrielle Jeffrey (55th, 21:23.54) and Kirsten Dobson (65th, 22:19.86).
On the men's side, Mississippi College placed fourth with 130 points in the 8-kilometer race, tying Union (Tenn.) but finishing just behind on the tiebreaker. Arkansas State took the team title with 39 points, followed by Memphis (62) and Union (130).
Christian Balcer was the top Choctaw finisher, crossing sixth overall in 25:49.91. Sam Bryan placed 25th in 26:47.64, Tristan Bryan finished 29th in 26:55.31, Matthew Meadows took 34th in 26:59.36 and Whitt Kilgore came in 44th at 27:12.96 to complete the scoring group.
Rounding out the top seven were Matthew Singletary (45th, 27:14.10) and Tate Castleman (48th, 27:28.54). Also competing for MC were Cooper Parmer (49th, 27:29.26), Max Jacketti (54th, 27:40.29), Baxter Friedman (55th, 27:40.40), Jackson Stroud (68th, 28:20.20), Sidney Stegall (69th, 28:20.45) and Colin Brannon (70th, 28:21.65).
Mississippi College returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 4, with athletes competing at both the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Belhaven Invitational in Jackson, Miss.
