ORANGEBURG, SC – Both South Carolina State cross country teams finished seventh at the recent (Nov. 1) Mid-Eastern Athletic Cross Country Championships conducted at WakeMedPark in Cary, NC.

The SC State men, led by junior Tinashe Bure, had a team total of 128 points in the 8K, while the women had 187 points in the 5K, with sophomore Nia Singleton leading the way. Bure finished eighth overall in a time of 25:21.4 to earn All-MEAC honors. Singleton was 22^nd overall in the women's competition with a clocking of 19:56.2.

Following Bure in the men's individual standings for the Bulldogs were graduate Andrew Latimer (26:08.2), sophomore Kameron Sutton (27:58.3), sophomore Amari Ned (28:16.0), and freshman Mccaire N'TWA (28:49.8). Also competing for Coach Donald Cooper's team were juniors Kemal Forbes 29:13.1), Isaiah Campbell (29:22.3) and Brandon McMillen (29:27.1) and freshman Jalyn Price (30:06.7).

Lady Bulldogs who trailed Singleton in the women's individual scoring included freshman Shania Joe (23:12.8), sophomore Nevaeh Campbell (24:08.5), junior TyQwasia Williams (25:7.6), senior Sydney Cooper (26:41.0) and junior MaKayla Toussaint (27:55.1).

The Norfolk State men won their sixth consecutive championship with a team total of 55 points, while Howard grabbed the women's team title with 34 points. The Spartans' Lewis Too was the men's individual winner and Outstanding Performer with a time of 24:20.6, while Howard's Alexis Jones captured the women's title and Outstanding Performer honors with a time of 17:49.1.

SC State's Donald Cooper acknowledged that he had hoped for better team results, however, he noted that both the men and women made strides, bettering the 2024 results significantly.

"The finish was not the final team results we were striving for but I am proud of this group," Cooper said following the competition. "Tinashe Bure represented us very well, along with Andrew Latimer, Kameron Sutton and Amir Ned. On the women side, I was pleased with the performance of Nia Singleton, along with Shania Joe and Nevaeh Campbell.
"(First-year assistant) Coach (Regan) Kimtai has done a great job preparing the teams."

Both SC State teams made strides from the 2024 season, and several individuals also improved, Cooper noted.

"Last year, the men scored 220 points to finish last and our top runner finished 36^th overall," Cooper said. "This year we scored 128 points, with the top four runners finishing eighth, 17^th, 29^th and 34^th. For the women," we finished with 231 points last season to 187 points this year. And, our top three runners finished 22^nd, 36^th, and 39^th.

"We are getting better," Cooper continued, "But so is the rest of the conference obviously. We have to recruit more runners like our top 2-3 for both teams, something we plan to address in the off-season.
"But for now, Bure and Latimer of the men's team will compete at the NCAA Regionals (Nov. 14, Charlottesville, VA). After that, we will turn our attention to the indoor track season for everyone else."

ABOUT SC STATE ATHLETICS
South Carolina State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 14 sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer and football with all teams competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), except for women's soccer.

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