Oct. 7, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina Central University junior Desinia Johnson placed third in the Hagan Stone Park Cross Country Classic on Oct 4 to lead the Lady Eagles to a third place team finish. The NCCU men placed sixth.

Johnson crossed the finish line with a time of 19 minutes, 9 seconds on the 5k-course. In 20th place, junior Ashley Cooke completed the race in 20:04, followed by freshman teammate Dreanna Wallace in 30th place (20:19).

The Lady Eagles finished third overall with 82 points followed by Spartanburg Methodist (122) and North Carolina A&T State University (146). Elon University (23) won the women's competition, followed by second place Montreat College (68).

The Eagles finished sixth overall with 166 points, followed by North Carolina A&T State University with 205.

First to complete the 8k race for the Eagles was sophomore James Kukat, running a time of 26:22 to finish in seventh place. Brandon Jones followed next in 31st place, completing the course in 27:46.

Next stop for the Eagles will be Orlando, Fla., where they will participate in the 2008 Walt Disney Classic. First day of competition will be Oct. 10 starting at 3 p.m.

(Written by Nicole Mitchell, Sports Information Graduate Assistant)