When he finished his 5K run last week at St. Andrews, Scotland cross country runner Logan Ward’s time of 16:56 was the fastest mark of the year for the Fighting Scots.

But while the boys team finished second overall at the meet, Ward’s run was only the seventh fastest time on the afternoon. That’s because the Pinecrest Patriots came to town, and on this day they would record the top six times to finish first overall at Scotland’s last home meet of 2012.

“We had a really good day out there, but that just shows you how good of a team Pinecrest is,” said Scotland cross country head coach Greg Wrape. “But I believe that competition breeds excellence, and the fact that my team had some of their fastest times all year shows that Pinecrest brought out the best of them. I’m extremely proud of them for stepping up to the challenge.”

Scotland senior Shyanne Pate would finish her day as the highest-placed runner for the Fighting Scots. Her time of 20:58 was good enough for third-place honors despite her team not placing due to lack of participants. The girl’s cross country squad has dealt with injuries throughout the season.

Finishing in eighth place behind Ward was John Holloway, who recorded a 17:27 which is three seconds of his personal best time of the season. Kendall Romaine would finish 10th place with a time of 18:08, while Kytel Collins-Jackson would record his fastest time of the year with a 18:40.

Other notables include boys runner Dylan Faulk with a 15th place finish (19:27) and sister Sydney Faulk who ran a 24:12 to finish 13th overall. Sydney’s time was also a personal best for her on the year.

The next meet on the Scots’ calendar is the conference championship meet, which takes place Tuesday afternoon at the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford. The boys are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.