Lady Bucs Finish Ninth at Big South Cross Country Championship; Epley Named to All-Academic Team

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Liberty Flames won 2009 Big South Women’s Cross Country Championships at the Shady Oaks course in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Saturday morning.  The Virginia Military Institute’s Hannah Granger finished first in the women’s 6K to take home Runner of the Year honors.

Liberty posted 47 points, followed by VMI (66 points) and Coastal Carolina (76).  In fourth-place was High Point with 86 points and Winthrop closed the top five 117 points.  In sixth was UNC Asheville with 148 points and in seventh was Radford with 172 points.  Gardner-Webb (225) and Charleston Southern (262) rounded out the list.

The Lady Buccaneers shaved 30 seconds off their average time from the Big South Preview Meet on Sept. 19, averaging 23:35 Saturday.

“Although we didn’t finish the way we wanted to, we showed a lot of improvement this year,” said Head Coach Ryan Thompson. “We are very young and the good news is that we don’t graduate anyone from this team.”

Adrienne Cuff led the charge (20:33), running four seconds faster than her previous time on the course, capping off an outstanding freshman campaign with a 36th place finish. Susanna McKee finished second on the team, 67th overall with a time of 23:10. Tracey Epley wasn’t far behind her teammate in 23:16, claiming 68th place, while Hallie Wright (24:51) returned to the course after battling the flu to finish 74th in a time of 24:51. Rounding out the CSU group was Christina Gallo, who ran 26:05 for 76th place.

Star Holmes, who finished 56th overall in the Big South Preview meet, did not run due to a death in the family

Cuff will continue her season as she competes in the NCAA East Regional in Louisville, Ky., November 14.

2009 Runner of the Year
Hannah Granger, VMI

2009 Freshman of theYear
Jenna Moye, VMI

2009 Big South All-Conference Team
Hannah Granger, VMI
Dacia Bushman, Liberty
Jennifer Klugh, Liberty
Jenna Moye, VMI
Lori Crotts, Radford
Shelby Donahue, Coastal Carolina
Janel Reeves, Coastal Carolina
Emily Webb, High Point
Brooke Spencer, Winthrop
Melanie Kulesz, UNC Asheville

2009 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Carly Moss, Winthrop

2009 Cross Country All-Academic Team
Carly Moss, Winthrop
Theresea Schamberger, Coastal Carolina
Brittany Christian, Radford
Katie Olert, UNC Asheville
Tracy Epley, Jr. Charleston Southern
Joya Canfield, High Point
Dacia Bushman, Liberty
Laura Scott, Gardner-Webb
Hannah Granger, VMI
Mellette Johnson, Presbyterian

Coach of the Year
Paul Spangler, VMI

Meet Results