CHARLOTTE, N.C. - - The Cumberland women's cross country team competed in the Women's 5000m Gold race this evening in the Royals Cross Country Challenge, finishing 23rd out of 26 teams with 643 points.

Freshman Elizabeth Agyei led the Phoenix with a strong individual performance, crossing the finish line in 19:18.3 to crack the top 100 and place 97th overall. Junior Wendy Komane followed with a time of 19:55.0, finishing 133rd.

Sophomore Laykin Ellis was Cumberland's third finisher, placing 175th in 20:43.4. Junior Alexa Rumpf finished just behind her in 20:51.0 to take 181st, while junior Channon Cundiff rounded out the team's top five with a time of 20:52.8 in 182nd place.

Junior Jenna Towles was close behind Cundiff, finishing 183rd in 20:53.7, as the trio of Rumpf, Cundiff, and Towles ran in a pack for most of the race. Freshmen Alaina Chapman and Karis Singleterry also competed for the Phoenix, recording times of 21:56.6 and 22:10.7, respectively.

Cumberland's top five runners combined for a total time of 1:41:41, with an average time of 20:21. Catawba won the team competition with 66 points, followed by Furman (86) and Davidson (111).

The Phoenix will run one more time in the build up to the conference championship, running in the Great Lakes Challenge on October 24th.