The Virginia Union University Men's Cross-Country Team opened the 2022 season by competing in the University of Richmond Spider Alumni Open on Saturday, September 3, at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va.

The Panthers finished 12th in a meet which featured seven Division I cross-country teams.

VUU's top finisher was Marcus Phifer, who completed the six-kilometer course in a time of 23:19.0.

"The men's team did okay," said VUU Head Cross-Country Coach Franck Charles.  ""We've still got some work to do, but this is the first event of the season and we wanted to see what we're working with, and we're going to start fresh on Monday."

The complete list of VUU runners is:

Marcus Phifer:  23:19.0
Christopher Laws:  24:48.6
Derrick Chesire:  24:59.4
Eric Pierce:  28:54.7
Khourtney Tremble:  29:54.7
Ethan Mobley:  DQ

VUU will now travel to Petersburg, Va., to compete in the Virginia State University Fall Opener at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9.