ELON, NC – The reigning Coastal Athletic Association men's cross country runner of the week, Kylan Willis, had another outstanding performance on Friday night for the North Carolina A&T men's cross country team, placing in the top-15 at the 6K "Friday Night Lights" Elon Opener at the Elon Cross Country Course.
On the women's side, by running a personal best in the 4K, A&T senior Fajr Kelly barely missed finishing in the top 15. Both the A&T teams finished fifth overall. The men posted 138 points, which included two top-35 finishes. The women scored 143 points, including two top-25 finishes.
Elon's annual "Friday Night Lights" event that A&T typically participates in started at 8:15 p.m., with the women's race, followed by the men's. Willis placed 11th by finishing in 19:00.01. Despite finishing 11th, Willis scored 10 points because he finished behind a runner not affiliated with a school.
A year ago, at the Elon Opener, Willis ran his career-best in a 6K event, finishing in 18:43.6. Willis is having an outstanding 2024 season thus far after winning CAA men's cross country runner of the week thanks to his second-place finish in a dual meet against Duke University last week.
Junior Abdiselam Green posted 24 points for the Aggies after finishing 32nd overall. The Davidson Wildcats could only score their top five runners toward their score. A few unaffiliated runners finished ahead of Green, which helped lower his score. Green made a final push toward the end of his race to finish with a personal record in the 6K of 19:55.9.
Graduate Jalen Chin (20:17.3), freshman Abishek Pradhan (20:42.2), and sophomore Kaleb Conway (20:59.4) also scored for the Aggies on Friday.
Kelly and sophomore Ryan Prioleau continue to lead the women's cross country program. The A&T duo combined for 34 points, pulling the Aggies into a scoring tie with USC Aiken, but the Pacers had an overall lower team time, finishing in 1:20:16.5 as opposed to A&T's 1:20:54.9. Kelly ran a 14:36.4 to secure her personal record.
She finished 16th overall but scored 15 points. Prioleau also had a 4K personal record. She placed 22nd overall and posted 19 points for the Aggies by finishing in 14:52.9. Graduate Jayla Jones (16:38.3), sophomore Nina Story (17:07.6), and senior Ania Campbell (17:39.8) also scored for the Aggies.
Both teams will step away from competition for approximately a month before participating in the Great American XC Cedric Walker HBCU Invitational at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
