DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Freshman Kennedy Roush (Greenville, S.C.) placed 18^th to pace the Anderson University women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Saturday, November 4.

Wingate took home the team championship in the event with a team score of 30 while Catawba secured runner-up honors with 53 points. Flagler (85 points) and Lenoir-Rhyne (143 points) were the other two schools to finish ahead of the Trojans, who recorded 146 points in the race.

"Our women have had an up and down year due to injury and sickness, but performed the best they have all year today," said head coach Kevin Eagle. "We would have liked to place higher as a team of course, but I feel like they performed as good as they could based on the season we had. We're not satisfied with this result and plan to do better so that we can make it back to NCAA's."

Roush was able to secure her 18^th place finish in the race with a time of 22:31.8 to lead the team while senior Emily Golden (Tifton, Ga.) finished just a few places back in 23^rd with a time of 22:44.0. Sophomore Emma Whitaker (Inman, S.C.) tallied a 34^th place finish in the event with a time of 23:02.1 while sophomores Sarah Rudolph (Winter Springs, Fla.) and Lucy Schmitt (Greenville, S.C.) finished 37^th and 39^th, respectively.

Seniors Faith Nelson (Moore, S.C.) and Elise Matthews (Piedmont, S.C.) rounded out the placings for the Trojans with a 46^th place and a 57^th place finish.

The runners will now turn their attention to the track as they prepare for the distance events of the indoor and outdoor track seasons.