High Point Wins 2025 Big South Women's Cross Country Championship
FARMVILLE, Va. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – With five of the top eight finishers,
High Point claimed its Big South-record ninth consecutive Women’s Cross Country championship and 11th in the last 12 seasons on Friday morning on the campus of Longwood University. HPU’s
Brianna Malone crossed the finish line first in 16:59.5 to win her third consecutive individual title of the 5K race -- becoming just the sixth-ever three-time individual champion in Big South history.
Malone won the 5K race by 23.8 seconds over teammate
Danielle Jensen, who was second with a time of 17:23.3. Longwood’s
Sophie Farley was third overall with a time of 17:34.5 -- marking the top individual finish by a Lancer in the school’s Big South era. She was followed by HPU teammates
Alyssa Hendrix (fourth, 17:38.6) and
Charli Montalvo (fifth, 17:45.8), and rounding out the top seven for First-Team All-Conference honors were Radford’s
Sophie Magson (17:48.4) and UNC Asheville’s
Alison Graf (17:52.6).
High Point closed the day with 20 points -- the third-best team score in Championship history -- to extend its Big South record for consecutive championships to nine, while the title marked the program’s 12th overall -- second-most in league annals.
UNC Asheville (62) was second in the team standings -- the Bulldogs’ best finish since 2003, followed by
Radford (94) in third.
High Point’s 42-point margin of victory was the sixth-largest in Championship history, while Malone marked the Panthers’ eighth individual champion in the past nine meets.
Malone is the first back-to-back-to-back Big South Champion since High Point’s
Famke Heinst in 2018, 2019, and 2020-21 when the event was run in the spring. High Point’s
Olivia Purdy is the Panthers’ fourth Big South Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year honoree in five seasons. Meanwhile, Radford’s
Delaney Eller was recognized as the Big South Newcomer of the Year. Montalvo collected her fourth career All-Conference accolade, becoming just the 15th women’s cross country runner in Big South history with this distinction.
Following the race, High Point’s
Remy Tamer was voted the Big South Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the fourth-straight year and sixth time overall, while Malone was voted the Women’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league’s sports information directors. The final team results and standings along with this year’s honorees are listed below.
Final Team Results
1 – High Point (20)
2 – UNC Asheville (62)
3 – Radford (94)
4 – Charleston Southern (107)
5 – Longwood (124)
6 – Gardner-Webb (165)
7 – Winthrop (178)
8 – USC Upstate (197)
9 – Presbyterian (275)
Individual Champion
Brianna Malone, High Point
Freshman of the Year
Olivia Purdy, High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Delaney Eller, Radford
Coach of the Year
Remy Tamer, High Point
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Brianna Malone, High Point, Jr.
All-Conference Team (Top 14 Finishers)
First-Team
Brianna Malone, High Point
Danielle Jensen, High Point
Sophie Farley, Longwood
Alyssa Hendrix, High Point
Charli Montalvo, High Point
Sophie Magson, Radford
Alison Graf, UNC Asheville
Second-Team
Olivia Purdy, High Point
Isabel Richardson, UNC Asheville
Katrina Husby, Charleston Southern
Aneta Kucerová, UNC Asheville
Jordan Thornton, USC Upstate
Jessica Perriello, Gardner-Webb
Morgan Devanny, Gardner-Webb
All-Academic Team
Kallie Henderson, Charleston Southern, Jr.
Emily Leatherman, Gardner-Webb, Soph.
Brianna Malone, High Point, Jr.
Lanie Grogg, Longwood, Sr.
Isabel Whitman, Presbyterian, Sr.
Katelyn Campbell, Radford, Soph.
Isabel Richardson, UNC Asheville, Jr.
Gaby Sanchez, USC Upstate, Jr.
Anna Conrad, Winthrop, Soph.