SALEM, Va. - While plenty of other Southern Virginia athletic programs prevailed in their respective events, one of the best performances belongs to the Southern Virginia University cross country teams.

Not far from Buena Vista, the Knights competed at Salem's Green Hill Park as part of the South Region Showdown, a preview to the South Regional Championship meet to be held next month. 

Men's Race

The men's team ran first and was led by another superb performance from its star freshman, Taylor Weiland.

Weiland took thirty more seconds off his personal best, running 26:20 to finish 37th. But he wasn't the only Knight to record a season's best by the end of the course.

Five of six men ran their best time of the season, including Easton Higley and Truman Meyer who each took a minute off their previous personal best.

Overall, the team finished 11th out of 21 teams and collectively ran their best as a team this season.

Women's Race

On the women's side, the Knights posted arguably the best regular season performance in program history.

With a mixture of Division l competition and teams that will be vying for a spot at this year's NCAA Division lll Championship meet, Southern Virginia proved they're capable of running with the best.

Emma Hillam led one of the best quartets in the field, which consisted of Hillam, Bayleigh Redd-Armstrong, Kaylee Horner, and Sasha Braddy.

Hillam and Redd-Armstrong finished inside the top 15, both with times under 22:40 over the 6K distance. Horner and Braddy were less than thirty seconds back in 20th and 21st place.

Kenia Reynolds has gotten better as the season's gone along, recording her best race of the season as the Knights final scorer.

The Knights finished fourth as a team, right behind last year's South Regional Champion, Washington and Lee, and two quality Division l opponents. 

Looking Ahead

With the regular season now behind them, the team will shift its focus to the USA South Championship on Saturday, November 1st, in Misenheimer, North Carolina at Pfeiffer's newly configured cross country course.

The men return as runner-ups from a year ago, while the women look to retain their title and become repeat champs. 

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