Lily Terwilliger CFNN Reporter

Julius Ferguson shows off the hardware after placing in the race.

On Saturday the Men’s cross country team took on the Dorothea Dix Invitational in Raleigh. This was their first year on the rigorous course, but they were successful with some top finishers and a top team score.

Eli Benbenek does his best Rambo impression as he attacks the course last Saturday.

In the Championship division the top 10 runners received a medal and the top 3 teams received an award. The course contained a lot of hills and all took place on the field of Dorothea Dix park. 

The course record for men’s cross country was broken this Saturday with a 16:56.19 by Alhagi Faal from Sanderson. This goes to show how rough this course is with times averaging at mid-high 17’s.

The men’s championship race started at 8:00 am with the top 7 runners Julius Ferguson, Jonathan Piland, Juan Alvarado, Collin Gaddy, Caleb Knudsen, Colton Danks, and Tariq Hussain all competing for a top 10 spot and a medal.

Julius Ferguson came in 4th place with a 17:33.02 earning a medal and 4 points for his team.

Colton Danks strides to overtake a runner.

Jonathan Piland was the last man to come in the top 10 for the Colts, earning a 7th place medal with a time of 17:37.02, just 4 seconds behind Ferguson. 

“This meet was certainly a challenge, but our team performed very well even with the early start time,” said Piland. “I felt like the terrain and temperature allowed us to improve our performance as well.”

Julius Ferguson distances himself from the pack.

The Championship boys pulled out a 3rd place team score, winning themselves an award. They had an average time of 18:02 and a total score of 70 points.

“The boys’ third place finish behind Sanderson and Green Hope was an excellent accomplishment,” said team captain Jonathan Piland.

Noah Lucas showcases his trademark “Man Bun” as he leads a pack of runners.

The next race the colts competed in was the men’s developmental at 9:00 am. The rest of the men’s team ran in this to include, Seth Thomas, Noah Lucas, Eric Hansen, Vinitcio Estrada-Zerhoudi, and Eli Benbenek. 

Team captain Seth Thomas was the first finisher in this race for Cape Fear with a 12th place finish and a time of 19:32.27.

Tariq Hussain sprints to a finish on Saturday.

“I enjoyed the Dorothea Dix meet a lot. The cool weather was perfect for me and I feel I was able to improve my state of mind when running,” said Thomas. “The course wasn’t the easiest with all the hills but I believed it’s helped me get stronger when pushing up and down the hills.”

In the developmental races, only the top two teams receive an award. The boys missed a 2nd place team award by one place after a 3rd place finish, landing them with a team score of 131. They had an average race time of 20:51.

Saturdays are for winning awards with the boys.

After the last Wednesday meet on October 9th, the men’s team will be focusing on competing in the conference meet which will take place on Tuesday, October 22nd. Come out and support the Cape Fear Cross Country team as they take on the South View Tigers! Be there or be square.