CLINTON, Miss. - The Belhaven men and women's cross country teams took the course Saturday in Jackson State University's Martin Epps XC Classic (8K) at Choctaw Trails. The men's cross country team finished second, while the women came home with a sixth place finish.

The men's cross county team finished with an overall time of 146:06, second overall out of nine teams in a meet that included several NCAA Division I and II programs.

"The men ran well despite running in the humidity on a muddy course," said head coach Christie Barber.  
 
Freshman, Alex Ntagawa led the way for the Blazers, clocking in with a time of 26:30.  Ntagawa finished just shy of West Alabama's Victor Onyango (26:17), who finished first out of 68 runners in the men's division.
 
Sophomore, Doug Mumme clocked in at 28:01 to take the seventh position. 
 
Junior, Ben Storment (29:56) finished 17th, followed by senior, Thorburn McGee (30:17) in 21st, and freshman, Orin Harris (31:22) in the 31st position.
 
The women's cross country team finished sixth out of 13 teams in the women's 5K.
 
"Chloe Brown had a solid top 10 finish for us," said Barber. "We have not run our full women's team yet this season, but we will be more competitive when we have everyone," said Barber.   

Brown (21:10) finished 10th overall in a field of 78 runners.
 
Freshman, Brooklyn Schumaker clocked in with a time of 23:23 for the Blazers.
 
West Alabama's McKenzie Scroggin was the top runner on the women's side, finishing with a time of 20:19.
 
The men and women's cross country will travel to Cleveland, Miss. to run in the Delta State Cross Country Invitation on Sept. 25. The women's team is set to take the course, which includes the Cleveland Country Club, at 8:30 am, followed by the men's team at 9:15 am.