Cary, NC – Fayetteville State Head Cross Country Coach Inez Turner accomplished a feat this past weekend that has been sought after for the past eight years. Coach Turner led the Broncos to a first ever Great American HBCU Cross Country Championship on Saturday at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC.
 
Fayetteville State defeated ten other Historically Black Colleges and Universities for the title. With 62 points scored, the Broncos topped Maryland-Eastern Shore by six points (68) and Morgan State (82) who finished third. Virginia State was the closest CIAA-member institution with a fifth-place finish (157).
 
All five scoring runner finished within the top 20 of 80 runners. Mercy Chemutai finished the five-kilometer course sixth overall for five points in her best time of the season in 19:52.6 and an average mile of 6:23.8. Nelly Kandie crossed in 11^th place for 10 points with a time of 20:14.4 (6:30.8 average mile).  Charisma McKoy scored 14 points with a 15^th finish. She ran a time of 20:32.9.  Carisha Leonard and Aleena Cruz finished back to back at 17^th and 18^th, correspondingly. Leonard ran a time of 20:46.4 and Cruz was just a step behind her at 20:54.0.
 
The men's squad was 12^th out of 13 teams in the 8-kilometer race with the single win over Voorhees. The Broncos scored 312 points with an overall time of 3:09:58. Charles Pumba finished 32^nd overall in 32:18.7. His average mile was 5:58.6.
 
Fayetteville State will compete at the Livingstone Invitational on Friday, October 11^th.