FARMVILLE, Va. – A pack mentality paved the way for Longwood women's cross country to finish sixth at the Big South Conference Championship on Saturday morning. The sixth place finish was the program's best ever finish since joining the league.
 
Placement (Time)
 
6. Longwood: 168 points
 
31. Lanie Grogg: 19:40.5
33. Grace Puleo: 19:57.5
34. Caroline Fairbanks: 19:59.3
35. Nicole Pinder: 20:00.6
52. Kathryn Oylear: 21:09.5
61. Bailey Deaver: 21:56.5
62. Kiersten Witte: 21:57.8
68. Aislinn Garcia: 22:52.3
69. Rachel Simmons: 23:01.8
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
The Lancers battled together to earn the program's top six spot. The team has focused on running together, and four of the top five runners finished within 20 seconds of each other to help accomplish the program's best finish in the Big South.
 
Lanie Grogg led the way with a 19:40.5, her collegiate personal best by nearly 15 seconds. It was the first time she has been Longwood's top runner this season, and she led a pack of four runners for the Lancers that clocked in at or under the 20-minute mark.
 
Grace Puleo (19:57.5) and Caroline Fairbanks (19:59.3) were nipping on Grogg's heels. Puleo ran a course personal best by 22 seconds, and Fairbanks was just two seconds from a course record she had set in September on the difficult Lancer cross country course.
 
Nicole Pinder also clocked her best time on the course at 20:00.6, and the sophomore finished in the team's top four for a fifth straight race this fall.
 
Kathryn Oylear, a sophomore, was the final runner to score for the Lancers, and her 21:09.5 was a collegiate best by 26 seconds, which she set in last season's Big South Championship. She ran more than a full minute faster than any time this season.
 
Bailey Deaver (21:56.5), Kiersten Witte (21:57.8), Aislinn Garcia (22:52.3) and Rachel Simmons (23:01.8) rounded out the field. For Witte and Garcia, the time was a course personal best.
 
After the meet, Witte was named to the Big South All-Academic Team.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"I'm so proud of the team," Grogg said about the team's best finish in program history.
 
"I thought it was awesome, how we all came out here, had our plan and executed it perfectly," said Puleo, a senior. "We packed up together. It is what we've been working on. Today was a great day."
 
"I thought the race went really well," Grogg said. "I kept thinking, 'It's for the team,' when I was running. It wasn't about me. It was about staying with the team so we can place higher as a team."
 
"I just had that energy," Grogg added when asked about finishing as Longwood's top runner. "Coach Michael said that every person counts, and that's all that mattered."
 
"It was awesome to see her finish ahead of me," Puleo said. "We had worked together and would tell each other things like, 'Come with me' as we are passing each other. And Lanie was right there at the hardest part of the course for me, passing around the lake, and that's when she just took off. And I said, 'Go get 'em Lanie.' It was awesome to see that. As a senior, watching the freshman move up and take their place on the team is awesome."
 
"Since it's our own turf, it was really nice to run on our home course for the conference championship," said Grogg.
 
"We've been training here for months now," Puleo added. "This is where almost all of our workouts were this season, so it felt like this is where conference should be."
 
"We have so many girls on the team that are here to run, here for each other, here to work hard, and it's so cool to see it," Puleo said about the team's growth over her four years at Longwood.
 
"It's really great, and this is a great start," Grogg said about what it is like to come in as a freshman amidst Longwood's growth. "We're going to keep coming, working hard and growing."
 
"We said this after the race, but we give a lot of credit to Coach Craig too," Puleo said. "She was in our position as an athlete a few years ago for the Big South, and to put on a Big South Conference Championship at her home course is incredible."
 
"We would not be here without her," Grogg said. "She's an amazing coach."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
The Lancers bettered their preseason predicted place by three spots, as they were predicted to finish ninth in the preseason poll.
 
For Oylear, it was her first time in Longwood's top five this season.
 
UP NEXT:
 
Longwood heads to the NCAA Southeast Regionals in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, Nov. 11.
 
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