CONCORD, N.C.– The Queens University of Charlotte men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2025 campaigns Friday morning at the Charlotte Opener hosted at Frank Liske Park, racing against regional powers North Carolina and Charlotte.

On the men's side, the Royals packed up well and placed five runners in the top 40. Senior Danny Raymond led the way with a time of 15:46.8, placing 23rd overall. He was followed closely by Preston Gantt (26th, 15:57.9) and Oliver Cooper (27th, 15:59.4), with both cracking the 16-minute barrier. Noah Boeck (33rd, 16:28.4) and Wesley Wistrom (35th, 16:36.1) rounded out the scoring five. Dennis Devine (36th, 16:49.1) and Jacob Sarto (38th, 16:54.5) also turned in strong races for Queens.

The women's team was paced by sophomore Simone Mouras, who clocked 18:55.6 to take 25th overall. Freshman Beatty Grace Hite was close behind at 19:20.7 in 29th. Rounding out the Royals' top five were Lina Mills-Zacapa (38th, 19:56.2), Rowan Shannon (39th, 20:00.4), and Sarah Bradley (40th, 21:25.5). Gianna Mars (41st, 21:56.2) and Brynn Fogarty (42nd, 23:39.5) also competed for Queens.

Head coach Will Crocker was pleased with his team's performance in the opener. "Happy about the way the team raced today and excited to see where we go from here," Crocker said. "All of our returning athletes ran quicker than they did last year at this same meet and we had a few stand out races from some of our newcomers."

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Next, the Royals will host the Queen City Invite on September 12 at McAlpine Creek Park.

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