SALISBURY, Md. - - The Wilmington University cross country teams competed in the famed Don Cathcart Invitational, with the men coming in second overall while the women finished sixth while running in Winter Place Park hosted by Salisbury University.
Mark Corrigan was the low finisher for the Wildcats on Saturday, finishing third in the men's 8K with freshman Brandon Cruz finishing just outside the Top 10 with an 11th place finish overall. Grace Slate paced the women to a sixth place finish with a Top 10 finish, placing ninth overall.
Grace led the Wildcats in the 6K run with a time of 23:19.78, followed by sophomore Alexa Crowell who finished 22nd overall for 20 points with a time of 24:08.76. Freshman Rosemary Gillam was the third Wildcat finisher with a 28th place finish for 23 points in 24:22.99.
Senior Gabby Brown finished 34th overall to gain the Wildcats 28 points, running the 6K in 24:43.67. Sophomore Julia Merritt was the final finisher for the Wildcats, coming in 52nd overall for 44 points in 25:42.04.
Junior Emily Kockott finished just outside the scoring for the Wildcats with a 55th place finish, gaining 46 points with a time of 25:58.47.Allyson Kelly also ran for the Wildcats, placing 58th overall with a time of 26:05.63 while Tara Langan finished 69th overall with a time of 27:35.99. Hannah Fitzpatrick came in 72nd in a time of 27:29.66 while Tori Crawford rounded out the Wildcats on the course with a time of 34:47.13, good enough for 95th.
The Wildcats finished with 124 points to come in sixth overall. Host Salisbury won the event with 42 points. NCAA Division I Maryland Eastern Shores' Mercy Chemutai won the 6K in a time of 21:58.56.
Corrigan paced the men to a second place finish by coming in third overall, running the 8K in 25:25.96. He was 15 seconds off the mark, set by Stevenson's Langston Gash's time of 25:10.86. the Wildcats 76 points were second only to Stevenson's 36.
Brandon Cruz finished 11th overall with a season's best time of 26:27.20 while Johnathan Avila had his fastest time of the year with a mark of 26:54.48 and a 16th place finish. James Kennedy continued his trend of getting faster each race, running Saturday in 26:58.64 for a 19th place finish. Johnelle Joe rounded out the Wildcats scoring with a 30th place finish (28 points), running in 27:41.18.
Garrett Checchi finished 44th overall with a time of 28:20.28 while Sean Scandle placed 49th overall in a time of 28:30.36. Andrew Milham finished 60th overall with a time of 28:58.15 and Zak Bacchus came in 63rd with a time of 29:08.48. Dan Leek crossed the line in 90th overall with a time of 31:24.34 while Jayven Davis rounded out the Wildcats on the course with a time of 28:48.73.
The Wildcats remain local with their next meet, as they head down the road to White Clay Creek State Park in Newark next Saturday to take part in the UD Blue & Gold Invite.