Royals XC Challenge results

Charlotte, N.C.----Wingate University freshman Scott Nutter was one of four Bulldogs to break the school's 8K record in the Royals Cross Country Challenge Friday afternoon. Nutter posted an 8K time of 23:59.5 to finish 21st in the 337-runner field. The Bulldogs finished third among 37 teams participating in the annual event.
 
Titouan Le Grix (24:01.3), Dalton Miles (24:10.0) and Jakob Rettschlag (24:15.5) also ran faster than Micah Kipchumba's previous 8K record of 24:26.0. Interestingly enough, the 2019 NCAA cross country national championship qualifier posted his mark in the same Royals XC Challenge event on Oct. 12, 2018.
 
Running unattached, Wake Forest's Coen Roberts won the individual gold medal with his 8K time of 23:22.7. The University of Charleston (W.Va.) had four runners in the top 10 to take the team title with 42 points. Wake Forest was second with 123 points, followed by Wingate with 133 markers.
 
Meet Information

Top five teams: Charleston, W.Va. (42 points), Wake Forest (123), Wingate (133), Milligan (136) and Cedarville (165)
Individual finishers: 337 student-athletes representing 37 schools
Location: McAlpine Creek Park, Charlotte, N.C.

Inside the 8K Race Results

- Nutter was running only his second XC race in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold
- Last Saturday in the D2 National Preview, Nutter ran a 26:25.6 8K race to finish 24th
- The Royals XC Challenge was also WU career XC race no. 2 for both Le Grix and Miles
- Le Grix finished one spot behind Nutter in 22nd place Friday
- He ran a 26:04.9 8K time at the D2 National Preview in Saint Leo, Florida
- A UNC Greensboro transfer, Miles finished 29th Friday
- He ran a 26:31.8 8K mark at the D2 National Preview, also finishing 29th
- Both Rettschlag and Soheil Boufrizi have run in every XC race this season for the 'Dogs
- Rettschlag's Friday time was four minutes better than his time from the Converse Kickoff (28:23.8)
- He ran a 26:33.0 8K time at the D2 National Preview
- Boufrizi recorded a personal-best 8K time of 24:38.3 on Friday
 
Notables

- D2 no. 16 Charleston was led by freshman Matthew Forrester, who finished second (23:27.6)
- The South Atlantic Conference had the next two individual finishers
- Catawba sophomore Matthew Fowler took third place (23:36.9)
- Lincoln Memorial freshman Gidion Sigei claimed fourth (23:41.8)
- Catawba finished 10th on the team charts, while LMU finished 14th
- The Royals Cross Country Challenge featured schools from all three NCAA divisions and the NAIA

Quotables

Wingate head coach Pol Domenech: "Today was a good day for our men. Four of the guys broke Micah Kipchumba's previous 8K school record…this has a special meaning for all of us. We look forward to adding the six people who didn't race today for the future races."

Up Next

The Bulldogs will return to action in two weeks, participating in the South Atlantic Conference championship meet on Saturday, Oct. 23. The 8K race will be held on the same McAlpine Creek Park layout. Queens University of Charlotte is the host for this year's SAC meet.