Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – In the first race of her junior season, Casey Williams made a statement.
 
It's one that will stand for a long time.
 
The veteran frontrunner of the Longwood women's cross country team etched her name among the top runners in program history Friday at the Elon Opener, clocking a team-best 15:31.1 in the 2019 season-opener to tie for the third fastest 4K time in Lancer cross country history. It was a PR by nearly a minute for Williams, whose previous two tries at that distance saw her log matching times of 16:22 as a freshman and sophomore.
 
In running her personal-best 4K, Williams tied Jacquelyne Chantry's 2007 mark for third on Longwood's list and trailed only record-holder Kristin Novara's 15:05 school record from 2005 and Jessica Alley's second-place mark of 15:29 from 2010.
 
That performance earned Williams a 31st-place finish in the field of 89 runners and saw her miss out on a top-30 finish by less than one second. In a field of runners that hailed from two Tar Heel State ACC powers, as well as Big South rival Campbell and host Elon, Williams finished ahead of three runners from Duke and North Carolina.
 
But Williams was not the only Lancer to become a fixture on Longwood's leaderboards, as freshman Grace Puleo joined her inside Longwood's top 10 4K finishers with a collegiate-debut time of 15:53.3. In doing so, she became only the seventh Longwood runner to break 16 minutes in the 4K and, alongside Williams, the first to do so since former ace Gracie Piekarski ran a 15:44 in 2016.
 
 "There were certainly a good many bright spots in our first race today, and I'd like to specifically highlight the two stellar performances of Casey and Grace," said second-year head coach Daniel Wooten. "Casey had worked hard the past two seasons and this summer, and her commitment is paying off. I'm equally impressed with Grace coming in and immediately contributing to our team. Both landed in the top six all-time for the 4K distance."
 
Puleo placed 42nd, giving the Lancers two top-50 finishers at the 13-team event. The sophomore trio of Lindsey Gordon (70th, 17:45.1), Maddie Foster (17:46.1) and Brooke Dippold (18:18.1) followed to round out Longwood's quintet.
 
Meanwhile, the Lancer men also got a breakout performance from a freshman in Sam Sager, who led the Longwood pack and placed 65th overall. His time of 20:53.4 in the 6K also earned him a top-10 spot on Longwood's all-time list, placing ninth to become the fourth active Lancer to appear on that list along with Sage Church, Nick Howell and Noel Preece, who all made top-10 finishes as freshmen in 2018.
 
Trailing Sager in Friday's Elon Opener were Church (67th, 21:02.7), Howell (72nd, 21:07.5) and Sager's freshman teammate Shahmique Cromwell (83rd, 22:01.4). Junior Chrishon Dollard also set a PR by clocking a 23:02.2
 
"On the men's side, Sam was impressive leading the men tonight and landing on our men's 6K record board as well," Wooten said. "I think our grouping was good, and we should have five guys within 30-40 seconds of each other. That said, I think both teams collectively need to continue shaking off the summer rust. That's a process, and some good team performances will get us where we want to be in November."
Longwood will continue to build its foundation for the Big South title run at the Big South Preview on Saturday, Sept. 14. That race will fire off at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., and give the Lancers a sneak preview of the conference championship course.
 
Elon Opener
August 30, 2019
Elon, N.C. (Elon Cross Country Course)
 
Men's Individual Results (6K, 109 participants)
65. Sam Sager (20:53.4)
67. Sage Church (21:02.7)
72. Nick Howell (21:07.5)
83. Shahmique Cromwell (22:01.4)
90. Chrishon Dollard (23:02.2)
101. Nick O'Keeffe (24:55.7)
107. Curran Atkinson (28:57.0)
 
Women's Individual Results (4K, 89 participants)
31. Casey Williams (15:31.1)
42. Grace Puleo (15:53.3)
70. Lindsey Gordon (17:45.1)
71. Maddie Foster (17:46.1)
73. Brooke Dippold (18:18.1)
 
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