Rocky Mount, NC - On a cool, gusty morning on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan, the Southern Virginia University women's cross country team reclaimed glory at the USA South Conference Cross Country Championships, winning their second team title in four years.
After winning the meet during their first year as conference members, the Knights finished second in the last two editions of the championship, but they thoroughly dominated in 2024 by placing four runners in the top seven places over the 6,000-meter course.
A trio of seniors, Heidi Barton, Kamryn Bradshaw, Elizabeth Dalebout, and sophomore Bayleigh Redd, asserted themselves in the lead pack from the sound of the gun. As the lead group eventually disappeared into the woods, a shuffling of positions ensued. Barton and Redd made up half of a lead group of four, while Bradshaw and Dalebout led the chase pack. McKenzie Ball, Emmalee Gabrylczyk, and Jasmine De Souza provided quality depth for the Knights, surging ahead of other teams' top runners.
When the lead runners emerged from the lonesome, spectator-free side of the course, Bayleigh Redd and Heidi Barton were locked in a battle for the individual title with a Mary Baldwin athlete. Ultimately, they could not get past their opponent, but the damage had been done in the race for the team title. Barton finished second at 23:21.4, while Redd ran 23:29.4 to grab third.
Elizabeth Dalebout and Kamryn Bradshaw overtook a runner in the final minutes to also place in the top ten, narrowly missing out on the top five positions to earn first-team all-conference honors. They finished in sixth and seventh, dipping under 24 minutes.
The senior duo joins two runners on the men's squad as the only members to have participated in each conference championship for the Knights since 2021. Dalebout has achieved all-conference every year and recorded her best time at the meet this season. Bradshaw has experienced significant improvement since her freshman campaign, improving her time on the same course by over two minutes in just three seasons, culminating in a second team all-conference performance in this years championship. As key runners in two USA South titles for the women's team, they are part of the winningest era in Southern Virginia Cross Country history.
The entourage of Knights didn't stop there. McKenzie Ball, Emmalee Gabrylczyk, and Jasmine De Souza helped flood the top fifteen with Southern Virginia athletes. Madeline Creasy, Isabelle Walley, and Amaura Laudie were the next Knights to cross the line, finishing within the top 25.
The dominant performance showed on the scoresheet, as the Knights finished with 29 points, almost thirty points better than second-place finishers Pfeiffer.
They've now won two of a possible four-team titles since joining the conference in 2021 and have never finished worse than second place. Several Knights earned all-conference honors, and Head Coach Kyle Chandler earned his second Coach of the Year award on the women's side.
The team will now look forward to the NCAA South Regional meet, which will be held in Clinton, Mississippi, on Saturday, November 16th. A berth in the Dlll National Championship meet is on the line.
Individual Accolades
First Team All-Conference
Second Team All-Conference
Honorable Mention All-Conference
USA South All-Sportsmanship Team - Elizabeth Dalebout
USA South Coach of the Year - Kyle Chandler
