Owen Invitational

Two runners in the top 10 and four in the top 25 pushed the Mountaineer men's cross country team to a fourth-place finish last Wednesday in the 5,000 meters at the Owen Invitational.
Mitchell's men came in fourth overall out of 23 teams from each of North Carolina's four classifications with 108 points. Asheville School won the event at Black Mountain Recreation Park with a low score of 83.
The Mountaineers finished ahead of Western Highlands Conference opponents Hendersonville (sixth), Owen (ninth), Mountain Heritage (16th), Madison (17th), Thomas Jefferson (18th) and Avery (23rd).
In a field of 259 entrants, two Mitchell runners finished in the top 10, and all five of their competitors that contributed to the team score placed in the top 60.
Zach Boone came in fourth with a time of 16:44.02, 17 seconds behind individual winner Tanis Baldwin of East Henderson. Brandon King was seventh in 16:49.20, five seconds behind Boone.
Daniel Yokubinas finished 22nd with a time of 18:27.05. Right behind him was Alex Cruz in 18:28.16, and Luke Deyton in 59th rounded out the team scoring in 19:46.08.
Other Mountaineer runners, their finishing position and their times were:
Brett Ely, 149th, 22:18.97
David Martinez, 151st, 22:21.73
Tony Gunter, 162nd, 22:35.22
Dylan Suiter, 179th, 23:04.19
Brandon Laws, 181st, 23:08.91
Jacob Gortney, 184th, 23:11.09
Dustin Suiter, 197th, 23:33.73
Caleb Street, 209th, 24:03.88
Chris Letner, 222nd, 24:18.34
Nick Stevens, 253rd, 27:25.95
The Mitchell women's team finished the 5,000-meter event in 19th. Samantha Huskey was their highest placer, 70th overall, with a time of 24:24.02. Marguerite Van Der Vorst (83rd, 24:53.34) and Kayla Hoilman (87th, 25:00.61) gave Mitchell three runners inside the top 100.
Rounding out the Mitchell women's results, Pahola Queriapa was 183rd (28:21.36), Abbigayle Atkins was 192nd (28:52.28), and Rebecca Robinson was 231st (32:00.36).

Story by Corey Hoilman-Mitchell News Journal