OAKWOOD, Ga. – Paced by senior Abigail Bozarth's fifth-place finish, the Anderson women's cross country team finished second at the Sixth Annual North Georgia Invitational, Saturday morning on the Nighthawk's Oakwood campus.
In a preview of this November's NCAA Southeast Region Championship course, the host Nighthawks finished first, with the Trojans claiming second place. Columbus State, which saw a pair of runners finish in the top three, took home third place. North Greenville and UNC Pembroke finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Augusta and Brenau rounded out the top half of the 14-team field.
Shorter finished in eighth place, with Tusculum claiming ninth. Mars Hill was 10th, followed by Middle Georgia State, Lincoln Memorial, West Georgia and Clark Atlanta.
Bozarth was one of three Trojan runners that finished in the top-10, with the Simpsonville, S.C., native crossing the line in a time of 23:42.81. Freshman Melea Sangl claimed seventh place in a time of 23:47.57, while sophomore Olivia Evans was 10th in a time of 24:11.77.
Sophomore Olivia Rish posted a career-best time of 24:23.52 over the 6K course and claimed 14th place, with freshman Kamryn Osterbind finishing 24th in a time of 25:09.19 and sophomore Hannah Beach (25:49.24) finished 35th. Senior Allyson Malone was just behind in 37th place after crossing the finish line in a time of 26:02.01.
Sophomore Lydia Gambrel (26:10.75) claimed 42nd place, with junior Emily Olson (25:14.98) and freshman Sara Pepper finishing 74th and 75th, respectively.
Following a two-week layoff, Anderson is scheduled to get back on the course on Friday, Oct. 12, at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.
