Charlotte, N.C. - For the first time under the direction of head coach Katie Rees, the Adelphi University cross country programs traveled south to compete at the Royals XC Challenge, hosted by Queens University (N.C.) Friday afternoon. 

In a field spanning top competition from every region but the east, the women's program posted an impressive 22nd place finish out of 63 teams, on the fast, flat course, at McAlpine Park. The men, who averaged 27:37.46 for the 8k race, finished 40th in a field of 57 teams. 

Crossing first for the women, and posting a career-best mark was Katherine Marsh, who finished in 18:50.7, good enough for 72nd overall. Close behind was fellow freshman Grace Minikel, who crossed the finish line in a time of 18:53.6, coming in 79th. The field featured 551 harriers, the largest group of competition the Panthers have raced against to-date. This was the first time ever that both K. Marsh and Minikel broke the 19-minute mark in the 5k race. 

The other Marsh, Isabel, was respsonsible for breaking the 20-minute barrier for the first time in her career as Nicole Julian posed a big season best at 19:13.5.

Thomas Roulette broke the tape for Adelphi on the men's side, coming in 200th overall out of 519 finishers. His time of 26:48.6 was a new career-best mark for the sophomore, who was followed by Ronan Smith as the second finisher for the Brown and Gold who also ran the best race of his career, finishing in 27:03.0. Rounding out the top three for the Panthers was rookie Gabriel Silva in 282nd overall, besting his career-best time by over 20 seconds. 

The programs will now prepare for the Northeast-10 Conference Championships, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27. Hosted by Le Moyne College, the 6k women's race and the 8k men's course will be held at Jamesville Beach Park in Jamesville, N.Y.