The Lincoln University men's cross country team captured seven of the top eight places as they dominated the race over Cheyney University, 18-45, at the two school's annual Battle of the First Cross Country Dual, hosted this year by Cheyney on Thursday.

Freshman Isaiah Thomas (Philadelphia, Pa. / Bensalem) handily won the 5,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 17:29.1, nearly 45 seconds ahead of his teammate Tyreke Thompson (Capitol Heights, Md./Fairmont Heights) who finished in 18:14.9

Cheyney's top finisher Michael Cusatis was third overall with a time of 18:15.3  A trio of Lions freshman runners followed with nicolas Deleon finishing fourth with a time of 18:47.7.  Lamar McMillan (Mitchellville, Md. / C.H. Flowers) followed with a time of 19:13 and Chris Bonds-Minter (Newark, N.J. / North Star Academy College Prep) rounded out Lincoln's top five with a time of 19:34.5  

A pair of Lincoln first year runners, Nathan Heaven (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Munro College, Jamaica) and Terrell Wallace (Upper Darby, Pa. / Upper Darby) rounded out the Lions seven-man scoring unit, placing seventh and eighth respectively with times of 19:42 and 19:44.  Khalfifa Ndir was tenth overall with a time of 19:52 and Deiondre Brown (Coatesville, Pa. / Coatesville) rounded out the Lions competitors with a time of 20:15, placing 12th.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Cross Country Championships on October 26, 2017 are up next for the Lions. The Championship races will take place at Green Hill Park in Salem, Virginia.