Faith Sykes and Rhema Ndjami Lead Bowie State to Second in Bulldogs Challenge

BOWIE, Md. – Washington Adventist University claimed first place in the women and men’s division in the Bulldogs Challenge hosted by Bowie State University at Jericho Park this afternoon.

In the women’s division, Washington Adventist outscored Bowie State 23 to 32 and was led by Kayon Spencer with a time of 25:14 over the 5K course. Lady Bulldogs’ sophomore Faith Sykes (Richmond, Va.) placed second with a time of 27:17 followed by Lucia Cortes (28:11), Alejandra Campos (29:22) and Chelsea Rivera (29:57) in third through fifth of Washington Adventist. BSU’s Kayla Watson (Bel Air, Md.) was 6^th overall, crossing the finish line with a time of 29:59. Lady Bulldogs’ sophomore Rayshawn Penn (Richmond, Va.) finished 7^th (30:13) followed by freshman Leia Conrad (30:17) in 8^th and junior Crishonda Coffey rounded out Bowie State’s scorers in 9^th with a time of 34:15. Ashley Boggess of Washington Adventist finished 19^th overall with a time of 39:05.

On the men’s side, the Washington Adventist Shock edged Bowie State’s Bulldogs 30-25 in the two team event. Junior Rhema Ndjami (Hyattsville, Md.) continues to lead the Bulldogs cross country team, leading all runners with a first place time of 15:15 over the 5K course. Jinmi Ismail was the second runner to cross the finish line, clocking in with a time of 15:47 for Washington Adventist. Leland Pittman of Washington Adventist placed third overall with a time of 15:49 followed by BSU senior Dana Smothers (Bel Air, Md.) in 4^th place at 16:15. Washington Adventist’s Kashif Brown and Brian Scott took fifth and sixth with times of 16:31 and 16:33 respectively. Freshman Vernon Swanson (Capital Heights, Md.) and junior Sonny Hicks (Temple Hills, Md.) finished 7^th and 8^th with times of 16:46 and 17:17. Christopher Daniels wrapped up the scoring for the Washington Adventist men, finishing 9^th overall (18:54). BSU freshman Xavier Thomas (Carroll County, Md.) placed 10^th with a time of20:09 and fellow freshman Travis Scarborough also competed, but his time of 25:09 did not factor in the scoring.

Bowie State returns to competition on Saturday (September 14^th) at the U.S. Navy Academy.