KERNERSVILLE, N.C. – Four races into the 2019 season, the youth movement continues for Longwood cross country.
 
After a season-long three-week break between races, Longwood's youthful men's and women's lineups showcased their growth at the VertCross Invitational with four Lancer women setting 6K personal bests two Lancer men finishing among the team's top three.
 
Among those top performances was a breakout 6K debut from the women's second-place finisher Grace Puleo, who clocked a 24:35.35 that was the fastest by a Lancer freshman in more than a decade dating back to Natalie Auble's 24:24 in 2007.
 
Puleo trailed only junior standout Casey Williams, who set her fourth straight PR with a 23:36.60 that placed her name on another of Longwood's all-time top-10 lists.
 
"After having three weeks off, this was a much-needed race to get some rust off," said second-year head coach Daniel Wooten. "That being said, we had some pretty strong PRs today. Brooke [Dippold] had a personal best by over a minute, so we were definitely excited for her, and Grace had a nice debut for her first 6K. Casey had another tremendous race as well as another PR that was the seventh fastest 6K in program history."
 
Behind Williams and Puleo, sophomores Lindsey Gordon, Brooke Dippold and Maddie Foster all followed with Gordon finishing in 26:29.04, Dippold setting a PR at 27:41.84 and Foster clocking a 27:59.90.
 
Official times for the Longwood men's runners are not yet available, though sophomore Sage Church and freshman Sam Sager continued the youth movement by leading the pack. Freshman Shahmique Cromwell took Longwood's No. 3 spot in his first full 8K, followed by sophomore Nick Howell, junior Chrishon Dollard and sophomore Nick O'Keeffe.
 
"On the men's side, Sage had a solid race getting into the 27s, while Sam had another top-three finish for us," Wooten said. "We were also excited to see Mique finish his first 8K after dealing with injuries for most of the season."
 
The top team finish was the first of the season for Church, while Sager finished among Longwood's top two for his fourth consecutive race.
 
The VertCross Invitational is Longwood's final tuneup before the 2019 Big South Championships, which will take place on Nov. 2 in Buies Creek, N.C.
 
VertCross Invitational
October 18, 2019
Kernersville, N.C. (Redmon Sports Complex)
 
Men's Team Results (8K)
1. Appalachian State (57 points)
2. High Point (64)
3. Clemson (65)
4. VMI (100)
5. Charleston Southern (117)
6. North Carolina A&T (137)
7. UNC Asheville (199)
8. Radford (227)
9. USC Upstate (228)
10. Roanoke (274)
11. King (356)
12. Winthrop (359)
13. Longwood (384)
14. William Peace (456)
15. Hampden-Sydney
 
Longwood Men's Individual Results (147 participants)
78. Sage Church
96. Sam Sager
109. Shahmique Cromwell
111. Nick Howell
113. Chrishon Dollard
140. Nick O'Keeffe
 
Women's Team Results (6K)
1. High Point (22:10.09, 47 points)
2. Wake Forest (22:28.12, 59 points)
3. Clemson (22:27.67, 59 points)
4. Appalachian State (22:42.89 (87 points)
5. Charleston Southern (22:57.21, 119 points)
6. Radford (23:59.74, 212 points)
7. East Tennessee State (24:01.57, 214 points)
8. VMI (25:05.93, 288 points)
9. USC Upstate (25:02.96, 306 points)
10. Winthrop (25:12.54, 307 points)
11. King (25:09.22, 315 points)
12. UNC Asheville (25:17.20, 319 points)
13. Longwood (26:04.55, 357 points)
14. Mount Olive (26:42.85, 394 points)
15. Gardner-Webb (26:44.85, 407 points)
16. Roanoke (26:37.90, 410 points)
17. Guilford (30:09.32, 482 points)
18. Limestone (28:50.97, 483 points)
19. Salem (32:54.21, 537 points)
 
Women's Individual Results (165 participants)
42. Casey Williams (23:36.60)
67. Grace Puleo (24:35.35)
110. Lindsey Gordon (26:29.04)
127. Brooke Dippold (27:41.84)
129. Maddie Foster (27:59.90)
139. Diana Smith (29:17.82)
140. Cicely Dunaway (29:21.87)
 
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