High Point Wins 2023 Big South Women's Cross Country Championship
SALEM, Va. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – With five of the top 11 finishers,
High Point claimed its Big South-record seventh consecutive Women’s Cross Country championship and ninth in the last 10 seasons on Sunday morning in Salem, Va. HPU’s
Brianna Malone crossed the finish line first in 16:45.2 to win the individual title of the 5K race -- becoming the Panthers’ sixth individual champion in the past seven meets.
RESULTS
High Point closed the day with 35 points to extend its Big South record for consecutive championships to seven, while the title marked the program’s 10th overall -- now second-most in league annals.
Charleston Southern (43) was second, followed by
Radford (74) in third in the team standings. In addition to Malone, the Panthers were buoyed by
Katie Taylor (fourth, 17:09.6),
Charli Montalvo (ninth, 17:31.6),
Elizabeth Ritter (10th, 17:33.8) and
Anna Ritter (11th, 18:07.9) on Sunday.
Malone finished :09 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher
Sarah McCartney of Charleston Southern (16:54.5), while CSU’s
Keerstin Augustin was third at 17:05.1. Radford teammates
Chloe Wellings (17:16.4) and
MegAnne Gilmore (17:17.3) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while Charleston Southern’s
Anne Akagi was seventh with a time of 17:19.6. The top seven finishers earned First-Team All-Conference medals.
Malone also received Freshman of the Year honors for her victory -- the Big South’s first freshman champion since 2017, as well as the Panthers’ third Big South Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year honoree in four seasons. In addition, Radford graduate student
Mackenzie Brownigg was recognized as the Big South Newcomer of the Year, while Wellings and Akagi collected their third career All-Conference accolade.
Following the race, High Point’s
Remy Tamer was voted the Big South Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the second-straight year and fifth time overall, while Radford’s
Natalie Preson was voted the Women’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league’s sports information directors. The full team standings along with this year’s honorees are listed below.
Final Team Results
1 – High Point (35)
2 – Charleston Southern (43)
3 – Radford (74)
4 – UNC Asheville (92)
5 – Longwood (173)
6 – Winthrop (188)
7 – USC Upstate (198)
8 – Presbyterian (220)
9 – Gardner-Webb (228)
Individual Champion
Brianna Malone, High Point
Freshman of the Year
Brianna Malone, High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Mackenzie Brownrigg, Radford
Coach of the Year
Remy Tamer, High Point
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Natalie Preston, Radford
All-Conference Team (Top 14 Finishers)
First-Team
Brianna Malone, High Point
Sarah McCartney, Charleston Southern
Keerstin Augustin, Charleston Southern
Katie Taylor, High Point
Chloe Wellings, Radford
MegAnne Gilmore, Radford
Anne Akagi, Charleston Southern
Second-Team
Isabel Richardson, UNC Asheville
Charli Montalvo, High Point
Elizabeth Ritter, High Point
Anna Ritter, High Point
Ella Moore, UNC Asheville
Paris Stankewich, High Point
Taylar White, Charleston Southern
All-Academic Team
Taylar White, Charleston Southern
Jessica Perriello, Gardner-Webb
Katie Taylor, High Point
Kiersten Witte, Longwood
Caroline Rairigh, Presbyterian College
Natalie Preston, Radford
Sophie Lundin, UNC Asheville
Heaven Bennett, USC Upstate
Olivia Kemp, Winthrop