Richmond, VA - The Southern Virginia University men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Richmond for the VUU Panther Invite, hosted by Virginia Union University on Friday afternoon. The meet featured seven teams and was highlighted by slippery and muddy conditions as rain continued to fall throughout the afternoon. The women's team stayed undefeated on the season by winning the meet by 27 points over second-place Virginia State. The men finished in third place, not far behind Division ll opponents Virginia State and Virginia Union.

The women competed first and were led by McKenzie Ball who finished fourth overall in a time of 21:58. Ball managed an impressive finish despite the unideal and slow conditions from the rain. She was followed by Emmalee Gabrylczyk, Isabelle Walley, Jasmine De Souza, Madeline Creasy, and Amaura Laudie, who rounded out the scoring for the Knights. Each recorded faster times than their season-opening meet at Sweet Briar two weeks ago. The men's squad was led by freshman Tayson Farar, who also secured a top ten spot by finishing in fifth with a time of 30:06. He wasn't alone in the top ten as Kenyon Kemp put together another solid performance to finish in ninth. Carter Johnson, Trey Meraz, and Brennen Bowman also scored points for the men, who were just 12 points behind first-place Virginia State.

It was an admirable effort by the entire team in harsh conditions as they prepare to face nationally competitive programs next week at the Dlll Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Indiana. The meet will take place on Friday, October 4th, on the fabled LaVern Gibson Championship course, which has hosted numerous Division l National Championship meets. The women will compete at 9:00 PM, followed by the men with a 9:45 PM start time.

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