BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On a beautiful fall weekend, dozens of top teams in the country converged on Lehigh's fabled Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.

After a successful stint at the meet in 2022, the Southern Virginia University cross country team returned and made the most of their visit. 

Not only did the meet feature several teams that could be featured at the NCAA Division lll Cross Country Championships in November, but plenty of top-end Division l competition made the trip to Pennsylvania.

Overall, the Knights impressed in just their third meet of the season, producing some of the best performances in program history. 

Women's Race

Even with 45 other teams and over 400 athletes at the starting line, several Knights asserted themselves towards the front of the race in the first mile. Emma Hillam and Kaylee Horner led the way and held their positions well through two miles.

After starting conservatively, Bayleigh Redd-Armstrong slowly crept her way up the field with Sasha Braddy not far off.

While a gap developed between their fourth and fifth runners, a slew of Knights led by Jasmine De Souza packed it in to provide solid depth for the team.

After navigating through the rolling hills, Hillam crossed the line first for the team, smashing her previous personal best with a time of 22:43. Horner, Redd-Armstrong, and Braddy were all within thirty seconds of Hillam to give Southern Virginia one of the best top fours of all teams.

It's the first time in program history the Knights have put three women under 23 minutes in the same race, a feat not easily accomplished. With seven personal bests, Southern Virginia finished 23rd as a team, beating out regional opponents Christopher Newport and Lynchburg in the process.

Men's Race

On the men's side, Taylor Weiland continued an impressive freshman campaign with a personal best. He moved up eighteen spots in the final mile to finish the 8K course in a time of 26:53, becoming just the fourth Southern Virginia freshman to break the 27 minute barrier since 2020.

Gary Rogers slotted in second for the Knights and has gotten better each meet. He and Joseph Hughes finished in times of 27:24 and 27:29 respectively. 

Carter Johnson, Easton Higley, and Truman Meyer rounded out the scoring for Southern Virginia and all ran much faster than their last effort at Navy three weekends ago.

Looking Ahead 

The Knights will look to take advantage of cooler weather as the season moves closer to the postseason. They'll participate in their final regular season meet on Saturday, October 18th at Green Hill Park in Salem, Virginia.

It'll be a preview of this year's South Regional course and has a history of producing fast times.

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