Cougar Runners Turn in Solid Performances at Adidas Challenge

Friday, September 15

WakeMed Park - Cary, N.C.

5:50 PM

College of Charleston

Adidas Challenge

Cougar Runners Turn in Solid Performances at Adidas Challenge

9/15/2023 7:48:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

Women's Results

CARY, N.C. – Mitchel Drees continued the strong start to his freshman season, and Rhian Purves again paced the women to lead the College of Charleston cross country teams at the Adidas Challenge on Friday.

Drees was the top finisher on the men's side with a 6k time of 19:07.0, shaving 34 seconds off his mark in his collegiate debut at the Buccaneer Invitational two weeks ago. He placed 33rd in a field of 153 runners to lead six men in the top half of the pack.

Purves had a PR of 17:58.2 in the 5k race to move into eighth place in school history and finish 20th overall out of 135 athletes, three spots ahead of Sophia Brown (18:12.4). Six women placed in the top 46 and the Cougars were fourth of 13 in the team standings.

"We are proud of how the athletes performed on a challenging course," said interim head coach Chris Bailey. "It was nice to see where we stack up against a few conference schools. This meet is a great springboard toward even faster racing later in the fall."

Drees was followed by scorers Jackson Reid (56th, 19:37.7), Ben Ashmore (67th, 19:58.5), Tucker Green (70th, 20:04.9) and Rob DiMedio (73rd, 20:10.8). Hammer Blair also finished in the top half of the field in 76th with a PR of 20:18.7.

Joshua Keifer (21:00.4) and Joshua Silverman (21:19.3) also had 6k PRs. The men finished in eighth place out of 17 teams.

Purves and Brown were joined by four other runners in the upper echelon, including Savannah Stoutt (34th, 18:38.6), Maeve Gimbert (38th, 18:45.9), Cayden Crismon (44th, 18:57.8) and Shannon Smith (46th, 18:58.9). Crismon's and Smith's times were also PRs.