Farmville, Va. -

The Ferrum College men's and women's cross country teams took to the course on Saturday at the Lancer Pink Invitational hosted by Longwood University. Competing against NCAA Division I programs, both Panther squads demonstrated grit and growth in the early-season meet.

Ferrum's men's team earned a 4th-place finish (120 points) behind Division I schools High Point, Radford, and Longwood. Leading the way was sophomore Damani Veney-Epps, who ran 28:52.8 over the 8k course, finishing 34th overall and scoring 22 points for the Panthers.

The men's scoring five included:
·        Veney-Epps – 28:52.8 (22)
·        Gonzalo Basurto-Cacho – 29:25.9 (23)
·        Seth Truett – 29:55.3 (24)
·        Carlos Menendez – 31:25.1 (25)
·        Ethan Fiitzgerald – 31:29.9 (26)

On the women's side, Ferrum competed against strong fields from Radford, Longwood, and VCU. Junior Carly Carwile led the Panthers with a time of 22:20.5 on the 5k course, finishing 28th overall.

The women's top five scorers included:
·        Carwile – 22:20.5
·        Isabel Weigel – 22:41.4
·        Sarah Hudgins – 24:00.2
·        Cassandra Miller – 24:10.3
·        Mi'Yah Young – 26:19.6
Freshman Chloe Smith also completed her first collegiate 5k, finishing in 29:25.8.