Andre Jordan ’22 placed third in 24:34 in the 7.4k men’s race at the Tom Scott Open Charlotte, North Carolina, Oct. 30. Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams had excellent showings at the meet, their sole regular season competition. —Southern Conference photo courtesy VMI Keydets.
Looking for a strong performance in their only regular season meet of the COVID-19 shortened season, the VMI cross-country teams accomplished the task at the Tom Scott Open Oct. 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In the men’s 7.4k race, the Keydets defeated the University of North Carolina Pembroke and King College with 20 points while Pembroke (45) and King (73) followed suit. In the women’s 5.6k race, VMI placed third with 63 points and was preceded by UNC Pembroke (35) and Lenoir-Rhyne (38). The Keydets defeated King College which placed fourth with 95 points.
Jahanzib Shahbaz ’21 led the men’s team with a second-place finish in 23:04 and was followed by Andre Jordan’s [’22] third-place mark of 24:34. Gavin Jenkins ’22 arrived in fourth in 24:34 while Trent Whittaker ’23 placed fifth in 25:00 even. Carlos Fernandes ’20 also scored team points with a sixth-place mark of 25:07.
On the women’s side, Anna Armfield ’21 finished fourth overall in 22:17, while Sara Belamarich ’22 came in eighth in 22:45. Naomi Hahn ’24 arrived third for VMI in ninth place overall in 22:59, and sophomore Taylor Rice ’23 came in 23rd in 25:14. Elizabeth Morris ’23 scored team points with her 27th-place finish in 31:20.
“I was happy with the ladies today as they competed well. Anna and Sara had strong races as they led the Keydets in fourth and eighth places. Rat Naomi Hahn had a strong finish to come in ninth place. Even though we only traveled half of the team, we competed very well today, particularly with three athletes in the top 10!” said Drew Ludtke, Ed.D., head cross country coach. “Our men dominated today, led by Shahbaz. Of the first 16 college athletes, 14 were from VMI. Scoring 20 points today will give the team some confidence going forward. The results show our upper class have progressed and a promising group of younger athletes coming in closely behind our upper class. The way the team has developed each year demonstrates how well these athletes work together.”
For full results, click here.
This article was first published at vmikeydets.com.
