Cross Country | 9/5/2026 1:03:00 AM
ELON, NC – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University men's and women's cross country teams opened their seasons Friday at the event where they usually start: Elon University's Friday Night Lights Elon Opener.
Weather delays hampered the event, but both teams finished 13
th. Graduate women's runner
Deavion Deleon continued her strong form from last season, when she became the first Aggie cross-country runner in program history – men or women – to earn all-Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) honors by finishing sixth. On Friday, Deleon finished 19th at the prestigious event.
Deleon clocked 14:25.4 in the 4k event. Last season at Friday Night Lights, she ran a personal record of 14:12.9 in her debut as an Aggie after transferring from the University of Nebraska. Sophomore
Demonte Peterson led the A&T men, finishing the 6k in 21:17.3 for 72nd place. Junior teammate
Abishek Pradhan finished 74th in 21:20.4.
Peterson's time marked a 6k personal record. A year ago, Pradhan ran a 6k personal record of 20:34.9 at Friday Night Lights. Senior
Kaleb Conway rounded out A&T's top three at 22:12.7. Catawba won the men's side with 66 points, ahead of Coastal Carolina with 82 and High Point with 87.
North Carolina Central University's (NCCU) Aaron Alukunyang won the men's event as an individual in 18:57.6. HPU's Blake Nicholson placed second in 19:05.8, and Davidson's Alex Thole finished third among 131 competitors in 19:18.9. On the women's side, sophomore
Aniyah Francis had the second-fastest time for the Aggies.
She crossed in 17:04.9, followed by junior teammate
Jessica Daniel's 4k personal best of 17:43.4. A year ago at Friday Night Lights, Francis ran a 4k personal best of 15:31.6. The Elon women dominated the event, finishing first with 21 points. The top four runners were all from Elon, led by Abigail Beville (13:58.4), Brynne Gordon (14:02.2), Hannah Webber (14:12.5), and Millie Gold (14:21.9).
The Aggies return to action on Friday morning instead of Friday night when they participate in the Livingstone College Cross Country Invitational in Salisbury, NC, on Sept. 11.
