CARY – Jana Zett, Kelvin Kibet, and Faith Jeptoo each logged top-40 finishes Friday evening at the Division I-heavy adidas XC Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Kibet finished 32nd with a time of 18:52.1 in the 6K race to help the men's squad finish eighth, while Ryan Ibarra took 46th at 19:35.5. Charlie Miller crossed in 19:40.1 to take 48th with Ed Carney close behind with a time of 19:49.3 to finish 51st. Alex Boyer (20:02.8) took 59th, Jared Bekkering (20:07.9) was 63rd, with Hayes Weatherman (20:16.5) finishing 64th to round out the top seven for the Braves.

The women's squad finished tenth as a team as Zett covered the 5K course in 18:22.3 to take 30th, with Jeptoo behind her in 37th with a time of 18:30.0. Malea Bennewitz finished 63rd at 19:26.8, while Sarra Belgacem crossed in 70th with a time of 19:51.4. Sophia Olszak (19:52.0) took 71st, Reid Harvey-McKean (20:12.4) was 73rd, with Kayla Barnhardt (21:39.0) finishing 77th to round out the top seven.
 
UNCP will resume its race schedule on Saturday, October 10 at the Royals Challenge. The event will be hosted by Queens University at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. The women are set to begin to at 6 p.m., with the men's race scheduled to follow at 6:45 p.m.