Trojans win XC Invitational

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 3, 2011 11:37 PM

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MOC

Sports Information

MOUNT OLIVE -- Paul Hoffman's toughest competition?

It came from his teammates.

Chelsea Long's outing?

Well, the sophomore enjoyed a record-setting afternoon.

Hoffman and Long each emerged victorious in the season-opening Mount Olive College Invitational contested Friday. Hoffman crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 58.12 seconds -- nearly six seconds quicker than runner-up and teammate Kerry "Bear" Maloney.

"I was happy with my time, and we did really well as a team," said Hoffman, a senior from Lakeview, N.Y. "We want to get four or five guys together who can really push each other. I think we have some guys here who will do that in Bear, Jamar (Davis) and Dalton (Souza) who was sick today.

"We can push each other."

Davis claimed fourth in 16:06.7 during the three-team meet, which included Conference Carolinas foe St. Andrews and CIAA member Fayetteville State. Erasmo Ordonez (16:27.4) and Kevin Ryan (16:32.5) completed the Trojans' 18-point outing.

St. Andrews had 50, while FSU logged 70 points.

Long covered the 5k course in 18:31.8 and became the school record holder. She broke the mark set by Beth Schultz nearly eight years ago.

"I just wanted to come out here and run my best time," said Long, who has posted sub-20-minute times in all six of her 5k outings. "I couldn't be happier the way I ran and how the team did. We have been working so hard."

The Trojans took the top five spots for a perfect 15 points. Amber Thompson took second in 19:43.6 -- the 13th-fastest time in program history. Teammates Courtney Seifert (20:07.5), Crissy Petro (20:14.6) and Jessica McKinnis (20:21.8) polished off MOC's first meet of the season.