GREENVILLE, S.C. – The VMI men’s cross country team, led by Noah Hagos’ second straight individual title, captured the team championship at the Gene Mullin Furman Invitational, held Saturday in Greenville, S.C.

Hagos followed up his Sept. 10 W&L Invitational win with a victory Saturday, clocking in at 25:59 on the 8K course. The effort was just 12 seconds off the course record, and was 27 seconds better than the day’s second place finisher. Ian McGinn, competing in his first race of the season, was an impressive fourth (26:50), while freshman Hartnel Paultre continued to impress, finishing fifth in 26:52.

The Keydets’ 24 points were easily enough to best second place Furman (72 points), who was ranked #14 in last week’s USTFCCCA Southeast Region Rankings. Anderson (S.C.) finished third with 82 points, while Charleston Southern placed fourth (127). Wofford (133) and North Greenville (195) finished fifth and sixth, with Coker (204) placing seventh. Brevard and St. Andrews were next, finishing with 206 and 209 points respectively, while Presbyterian College (282), Fort Valley State (287) and Claflin (313) rounded out the team standings.

Also in action for the Keydets were Hayden Hodges (26:55/8th) and Dean Gonsalves (26:59/10th). Gonsalves, a longtime 800-meter specialist, was competing in his first collegiate 8K. Will Thompson (27:06/12th), Jason Thorpe (28th/27:46), Jordanis Lozier (29th/27:47) and Frank Van Valkenburg (33rd/27:56) rounded out the VMI competitors.

“Noah Hagos looked great today, congratulations to him on his individual win,” said VMI head coach Paul Spangler. “Ian McGinn has progressed well in training, and that certainly showed today, and credit to Dean Gonsalves for a great effort in his first collegiate 8K. We ran well today, but still have some work to do. We have some guys who haven’t raced yet, and they may race soon. The team is looking forward to the race in Charlotte next week, and we are hoping to see some much faster times.”