CHARLOTTE – Ed Carney turned in an 18th-place finish in the men's 8K to help lead the team to an eighth-place finish, while Malea Bennewitz placed 54th in the women's 5K to pace the Braves Friday evening at the Royals Challenge hosted by Queens University at McAlpine Creek Park.

Carney crossed in a personal-best time of 25:08.8, with Kelvin Kibet taking 22nd in a personal-best 25:12.4, and Antony Kigen in 41st with a time of 25:44.8. Ryan Ibarra (25:50.8) took 48th, with Conrad Robertson (personal-best 26:23.0) in 69th, and Will Clancey (personal-best 26:29.2) taking 73rd. Payden Lewis crossed in 26:57.9 to take 95th, with Daniel Mejias finishing 97th at a personal-best 27:02.3, and Alex Butler placing 122nd with a time of 27:50.7. JP Marquez logged a personal-best 28:38.3 to take 136th and round out the finishers on the men's side.

Bennewitz shaved nearly a minute off of her personal-best time and was the top Braves finisher in the women's race with a time of 18:48.4, with Sofia Skidmore taking 100th at 19:35.8, and Jana Termos finishing 131st with a personal-best time of 20:27.6. Lizzy Laurine (24:30.0) was 155th, Devyn Soles (25:05.7) took 156th, while LaNiya Harris (personal-best 28:01.8) finished 159th to round out the women's squad.

The men's squad finished with 196 points to take 8th, while the women's team tallied 467 points to take 17th.
 
Both squads will now turn its attention to the Conference Carolinas Championships, with the event set for Friday, October 24. The races will take place at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville and are slated to begin at 4 p.m.