CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Royals Cross Country Challenge on Friday. 

The women took 10th out of 26 teams while the men, racing without their top seven runners, took 24th out of 27. 

Women's XC were led by 2025 triathlon national champion Zoila Sicilia, who placed 45 out of 221 runners with a 5k time of 18:28.1. She was followed by freshman Jordana Nunez (70th, 18:54.0) and Brooke Reynolds (73rd, 18:56.7), who both broke the 19 minute barrier for the first time this year. Amy Mendoza Lopez set a new collegiate PR with a time of 19:24.7. The final scorer for the Bears was Emilia Dabadie, who just edged out Caitlyn Christie with a time of 19:30.2, barely ahead of Christie's 19:30.5. 

Juan Tinajero Jr. was the first runner across the line for the Lenoir-Rhyne men, setting a new 8k personal best with a time of 26:25.8, over a minute faster than his time on this same course a month ago. Local product Sean Reed wasn't far behind, setting a new personal best with a 26:29.3, nearly a minute and a half faster than his time a month ago. Cristian Cabascango was Lenor-Rhyne's third finisher, running a 26:40.8. Elijah Baker (27:29.3) and Paul Williams (27:44.0) were the final finishers for the Bears.

Both teams will be off next week before heading to Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday, October 24, for the UAH Invitational.