CHARLESTON, S.C. – When the lights were brightest, Longwood women's cross country showed up in force. The Lancers matched their best-ever finish in the Big South Championship with a fifth-place effort as Sophie Farley broke the team's 5K record again.
 
Farley, who earned All-Big South Second Team honors, finished 10^th in yet another milestone race during her impressive debut season.
 
But the rest of her team wasn't far behind. The Lancers were a mere three points behind UNC Asheville, who finished fourth, and both teams had runners finishing neck-and-neck down the stretch.
 
NOTABLE RESULTS:
 
Farley's time of 17:47.9 shaved off 10.9 seconds off her program record time, set two weeks ago. She became the first runner in team history to run the 5K in under 18 minutes, and now she has done it in back-to-back races.
 
Her 10^th place effort is the team's best finish in the race, surpassing Casey Williams' 11^th place finish in the 2020-21 season.
 
Farley now holds the top two 5K times in team history.
 
The top five runners for the Lancers all finished in the top 35, with the team having eight runners finish in under 20 minutes. That allowed Longwood to post its lowest score in team history.
 
Priscilla Keller crushed her PR, again, on the way to a 20^th place finish as the team's second runner. Her time of 18:25.0 broke her personal best by 19 seconds, and the sophomore tied the now sixth-fastest time in team history in the process. Her time matched Alisha Royal's time of 18:25, run back in 2012.
 
Kirsten Morley finished 34^th with a 19:00.6, and Nicole Pinder set a PR by seven seconds to finish 35^th with a 10:03.6. Haley Slattery was one-tenth of a second back in 36^th with a 19:03.7, just three seconds off her PR, to round out the team's scoring group.
 
Lanie Grogg (19:16.9, 41^st), Sam Bolen (19:23.2, 44^th) and Madison Davis (19:36.2, 52^nd) rounded out the crew that finished under 20 minutes.
 
Olivia Meier, a freshman, lowered her PR to 20:08.8 while finishing 63^rd.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"The women ran an excellent race in a stacked field," said Longwood Director of Cross Country & Track Brooke Craig. "Coming into this season it was a big deal if our women's team average time was sub 20. They changed that from the start of the year and finished with another improvement. We focused on pack running and having fun this season, and it's paid off. They are a young squad who's ready to continue to raise the standard for this program. It's been a fun season, and I'm excited about the future."

"I knew going into this race that Sophie was ready to get all-conference," said Craig. "She put herself in the position from the start and fought every second of the race today."
 
FULL RESULTS:
 
1. High Point: 1-3-4-6-8(16)(24)—22
2. Charleston Southern: 2-5-7-12-13(23)(25)—39
3. Radford: 9-15-17-22-26(35)(44)—89
4. UNC Asheville: 19-21-27-29-30(43)(45)—126
5-. Longwood: 10-20-32-33-34(39)(42)—129
6. USC Upstate: 14-18-36-51-53(54)(55)—172
7. Winthrop: 28-31-37-41-46(49)(50)—183
8. Gardner-Webb: 11-38-40-47-48(56)—184
9. Presbyterian: 52-57-58-59-60—286
 
Longwood Individual
10. Sophie Farley: 17:47.9
20. Priscilla Keller: 18:25.0
34. Kirsten Morley: 19:00.6
35. Nicole Pinder: 19:03.6
36. Haley Slattery: 19:03.7
41. Lanie Grogg: 19:16.9
44. Sam Bolen: 19:23.2
52. Madison Davis: 19:36.2
63. Olivia Meier: 20:08.8
69. Emily Johnston: 20:42.5
 
UP NEXT:
 
The NCAA Southeast Regional is on Friday, November 15 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower