NEED TO KNOW
Date: Sept. 18, 2021
Location: Spartanburg, S.C. – Milliken Research Park
Events: Women 6k // Men 8k
 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – For the first time this season, Piedmont University's cross country teams competed in a stacked field of 20+ opponents, while also battling the elements, at Saturday morning's South Region Preview.
 
Saturday's field was comprised of 26 men's and 23 women's teams across both Division II and Division III. The Lions will return to the same Millikin Research Park courses later on this year for the NCAA Division III regional meet.
 
The Piedmont women did not race for points yet again as the roster fights to get back to full strength, but that didn't stop each of the team's top three finishers from setting new personal best 6k times.
 
Senior VAL ANGEL paced the Lions and placed 30^th out of 207 runners with her 23:45.7 final time, which eclipsed her previous personal best time by close to 16 seconds. Her time also fell just three seconds shy of the current school record.
 
Both JAYCIE PONCE (51^st – 24:28.4), who paced the Lady Lions quartet for the better part of the first two miles, and JOSEY GEORGE (95^th – 25:59.5) also set new personal best times.
 
The sun began beating down stronger than it had been before the start of the men's race, and the heat played a significant factor in hindering any success the Lions hoped to have.
 
Piedmont placed 16^th as a team out of 23 competitors but likely would have finished higher if not for senior CONNOR MORANOS, who was second on the team at the time, losing a shoe around mile two and being forced to retire.
 
Junior GARY HALVERSON led the Piedmont pack with a 27:28.1 final time, placing him 47^th out of 272 finishing runners. He was joined in the top three by CONNOR CREEDON (112^th) and DARIUS SMITH (123^rd).
 
Freshman JADON GONZALES continued to impress at just his third collegiate meet as he finished in the points for the second consecutive race. Gonzales placed fourth on the team and 154^th overall with a 29:36.2 final time.
 
After powering through a challenging day, Piedmont now gets two weeks to get healthy and get prepared for the schedule's next event, the Live in Lou Classic, on Saturday, October 2.
 
Complete women's results:
6k:
VAL ANGEL – 23:45.7
JAYCIE PONCE – 24:28.4
JOSEY GEORGE – 25:59.5
LEEANN LAWRENCE – 27:42.3
 
Complete men's results:
8k:
GARY HALVERSON – 27:28.1
CONNOR CREEDON – 28:54.8
DARIUS SMITH – 29:02.8
JADON GONZALES – 29:36.2
WALKER CAPELLE – 29:41.8
MAX MILLER – 29:57.9
TUCKER COX – 29:59.6
NATHANIEL TURNER – 30:18.3
MATTHEW GALE – 30:41.9
JACOB BALOT – 30:53.8
NOAH IRWIN – 31:32.0
COLE ELROD – 31:46.6
TREY HUGULEY – 32:08.7
CHRIS BALE – 36:14.4
CONNOR MORANOS - DNF
 
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