TALLULAH FALLS — The weather was less than ideal but the outcome of the Piedmont College Invitational was impressive for the Lions cross country team as Piedmont took the top four spots individually and seven of the top eight. Cody Parker won the Collegiate Men's Individual 8k title with a time of 29:06.04 to lead the field.
The Lions swept the top four spots as Clayton Thayer came in second overall with a time of 29:30.11 followed by Dewayne Cagle in third running 30:00.19 with Jarrod Howell not far behind with a 30:21.14. Oglethorpe put one runner across in fifth but the Lions took spots six through eight as well as Zane Rimmer, Cory McClung and Nathan Crews took those spots respectively.
This marked the first home meet for the Lions since Head Coach Jeff Jenkins joined Piedmont two seasons ago. There were a total of three teams who competed in the event with 11 individuals in the field.
Standout Performances
-Parker won the event marking his first individual title of his career.
-Thayer continued his impressive start to his career as he was just 24 seconds off junior Parker.
Inside the Numbers
-The Lions' top five finished within 2:01 of one another.
News & Notes
-Due to the weather conditions, LaGrange College withdrew from the competition leaving only Piedmont as a fully fielded team resulting in only individual results.
Up Next
Piedmont will travel for the second time to Greenville, South Carolina to race at Furman University on Saturday, October 10. Both teams will be competing at the Gene Mullin Invitational with the women racing at 8:30 a.m. followed by the men at 9:00 a.m.
