LOUISVILLE, Ky. / CLINTON, Miss. — Mississippi Christian cross country wrapped up a busy Saturday of racing, with the Choctaws splitting their squads between the Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Belhaven Invitational at Choctaw Trails.
The top group competed against a strong field at the Louisville Classic, while the remainder of the roster stayed home for the Belhaven Invitational.
At Louisville, the Mississippi Christian men finished eighth overall with 274 points in the Gold race. Baxter Friedman led the way for the Choctaws, finishing 32nd overall with a time of 24:44 over 8K. He was followed by Matthew Singletary who was the other choctaw under the 25 minute barrier, in 24:57.
The eighth-place performance was a very good showing from MC who got the better of several other talented D2 teams both in and out of the South region.
On the women's side, Catherine Wallace continued her strong season, leading Mississippi Christian with a 15th-place finish in the 5K. Wallace crossed the line in 17:55, breaking the 18-minute mark to lead the Choctaws.
Audrey Mayatte was the second Choctaw across the line, finishing 72nd in 18:51. Isabella Bailey followed in 89th at 19:04, while Kinley Harris finished 93rd in 19:06 and Ava Wardlaw rounded out the scoring five in 102nd at 19:08.
The women finished 11th overall with 342 points.
Back home at Choctaw Trails, the Mississippi Christian men put together a solid performance to take second place at the Belhaven Invitational with 45 points, trailing only Loyola-New Orleans' 29.
Tate Castleman led the Choctaws with a third-place individual finish, covering the 8K course in 26:54. Gabriel McElwain joined him inside the top five, finishing fifth in 27:05.
Hudson Copeland gave MC a third top-10 finisher, crossing the line 10th in 27:44. Ben Casperson finished 13th in 28:11.4, while Noah Arrington completed the Choctaws' scoring five in 28:20.
The MC women added another top-three team finish, placing third with 88 points. The Choctaws finished tied with Blue Mountain in the team standings and earned third place on the tiebreaker.
Lilly Jensen paced the Choctaws with a fourth-place finish, running 24:43 over 6K. Katherine Neal was the second MC runner across the line, finishing 12th in 25:35.
Briley Speights followed in 19th at 26:52, with Rylee Blanchard and Kaydi Blanchard completing the scoring five.
The split weekend gave Mississippi Christian an opportunity to compete throughout the roster, with both squads turning in impressive individual and team performances across the two meets.
