Terre Haute, IN - The Southern Virginia University men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Indiana to compete on the LaVern Gibson cross country course, the host site of the 2024 NCAA Dlll Cross Country Championships. Also labeled "Cross Country Town USA," the course has hosted numerous national championship meets and extremely competitive regular season meets, allowing the Knights to compete against some of the best Dlll teams the country offers. With a late start time under the Friday night lights, the women ran first and finished in a respectable 33rd place, followed by the men, who finished their night in 31st place.

The women's race featured eight nationally ranked opponents, including three in the top ten. The Knights were led by a strong pack of four from the start, sticking close together through most of the 6,000-meter course. The group, which consisted of Bayleigh Redd, Kamryn Bradshaw, Elizabeth Dalebout, and Heidi Barton, remained in the top half of the race and looked to leave their mark on their national competition. McKenzie Ball, last week's USA South Runner of the Week, and Emmalee Gabrylczyk also looked strong through the first half as key depth scorers.

Eventually, Redd made her way up the field with her three teammates in tow. In the end, Kamryn Bradshaw emerged from the group to lead the Knights into the finishing chute, smashing her previous personal best by recording a time of 23:58. Not far behind, Heidi Barton also recorded a personal best time with an impressive 24:06. Bayleigh Redd finished just seconds behind them in 24:09. Dalebout, Ball, and Gabryczyk followed her to round out the scoring for the Knights.

Similar to the women, the men's race also featured a healthy dose of ranked teams, the Knights had six athletes competing and also looked to make their stamp on one of the nation's most famous courses. Kaelen Ruder, a previous recipient of the USA South Runner of the Week, led the Knights' charge from the sound of the gun. He maneuvered his way into the top 75 and remained there for most of the race, watched closely by teammates Joseph Hughes and Kedryn Chandler. Kenyon Kemp, Carter Johnson, and Trey Meraz formed a pack of three and were consistent throughout, providing the team with quality depth scoring. Ruder was the first Knight to cross the line in a new personal best of 25:53, good for 79th place in a field of over 400 runners. Joseph Hughes also managed a personal best in 26:11, and Kedryn Chandler rounded out the top three in 26:55. Kenyon Kemp continues to impress, running 28:02 as a key fourth runner for the Knights, and Trey Meraz was the final scorer by finishing in 29:02.

The Knights will face more fierce competition when they return to action for the Rowan Inter-Region Border Battle in New Jersey on October 19th. It will be their last meet before shifting focus to the postseason as they eye another victory at the USA South Cross Country Championships in early November.

For the most up-to-date details and information on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightxctf on Instagram.