NEWTON, N.C. – With seven runners posting either season-best or career-best times and led by senior Haylee Love's personal-best, the Anderson women's cross country team notched its highest finish since 2011 by placing second at the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Championships, Saturday morning at Southside Park.
Queens, the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Poll, defended its title behind four top-10 finishes, while four-time champion Wingate finished third. The Trojans, who are ranked fourth in the region, had finished third in each of the last three years after winning the title in 2010 and 2011.
Catawba, Lincoln Memorial, Lenoir-Rhyne, Tusculum, Carson-Newman, Coker, Mars Hill and Newberry finished out the 11-team field.
Love, who has brought home all-conference hardware in each of her four appearances at the SAC Championships, covered the 5K course in a time of 18:16.25 – more than two seconds faster than her previous career best – and finished fourth, while capturing First-Team All-SAC honors. Junior Allyson Malone (18:27.64) was 16 seconds faster than her season-best effort and garnered First-Team All-Conference accolades by placing seventh.
Olivia Evans collected Second-Team All-SAC and All-Freshman Team honors after finishing 12th in a time of 18:40.49, with junior Abigail Bozarth capturing Second-Team All-SAC recognition after finishing 13th in a career-best time of 18:43.80 – nearly 16 seconds faster than her previous best.
Senior Alex Dixon claimed 24th place in a season-best time of 19:35.90, while senior Hannah Sanford garnered 28th place in a career-best time of 19:43.59. The freshman tandem of Freshman Olivia Rish (19:47.69) and Lydia Gambrell (19:48.40) finished 31st and 32nd, respectively. Freshman Hannah Beach (20:04.58) and junior Martha Coleman (20:06.46) rounded out the Trojan contingent in 39th and 41st, respectively.
The Southeast Region Championships will be hosted by Wingate on Saturday, Nov. 4.
SAC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year: Hannah Wolkenhauer, Queens
SAC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year: Gillian Kasitz, Queens
SAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year: Kevin Licht, Queens
All-SAC First Team
Hannah Wolkenhauer, Queens
Darroneshia Lott, Coker
Lucie Noall, Queens
Haylee Love, Anderson
Madison Hiatt, Wingate
Juliet Salgueiro, Wingate
Allyson Malone, Anderson
All-SAC Second Team
Natane Deruytter, Queens
Gillian Kasitz, Queens
Whitney Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
Hannah Mercer, Catawba
Olivia Evans, Anderson
Abby Bozarth, Anderson
Clementine Archinard, Wingate
All-SAC Honorable Mention
Allyson Arellano, Queens
Mandi Moxie, Queens
Haley Schaeffer, Queens
Tabea Kandlbauer, Lincoln Memorial
Gabriela Iademarco, Queens
Alissa Furches, Tusculum
Priscah Jemeli, Carson-Newman
All-Freshman Team
Gillian Kasitz, Queens
Olivia Evans, Anderson
Clementine Archinard, Wingate
Allyson Arellano, Queens
Haley Schaeffer, Queens
