Farmville, Va. — The High Point University Women's Cross Country team is heading to Farmville on Friday for the Big South Conference Championship, where the gun goes off at 9:45 a.m. The women's team has won eight straight titles and has had 11 conference championships in 12 years.
The Panthers are ranked 14th in the Southeast Regional. After all of this success, the job is not finished in the eyes of Head Coach Remy Tamer.
"The only thing that we are focused on is being exceptional in the championship season," Coach Tamer said. "I like where we are heading into the championship races."
Not only is just the team's success on the line, but individuality, as Brianna Malone can do something very special for the Panthers. If Malone wins on Friday, it would be her third consecutive conference championship and she will set herself in High Point women's cross country history. Last year she won with a time of 16:52.0 in the 5k race.
Not only is Malone trying to cap off her season, but freshman Olivia Purdy is looking to continue her stellar season. Purdy has taken home three Big South freshman runners of the week awards this fall. She will look to continue to run as the last scoring member of the Panthers in the fifth runner spot.
"I want to see Olivia Purdy really take a chance and go up there with her other four teammates and close the gap. It'd be great if she can earn the freshman of the year honors," Coach Tamer said.
Danielle Jensen and Alyssa Hendrix are going to have to continue to run as a duo for the Panthers. This is something that Coach Tamer has been looking forward to all season. Finally, in the Panorama Farms Invitational both Jensen and Hendrix ran within two seconds of each other and secured some serious points for the Panthers.
Charli Montalvo, at the conference race last year, ran a time of 17:05.8 and finished in 3rd place. She can help secure a huge margin of victory for the Panthers if she runs just like she did a year prior.
The Panthers heading into the conference championship race should not think about their past races and look only into the future for the conference championship. If they run as a team like they have in the past and can pack up together, another championship will be on its way to High Point.
"A goal for every member of the team, whether they are the first runner or our last runner, is to be competitively excellent for the duration of the 5k meters," Coach Tamer said.
Up Next: High Point will compete next at the Big South Championships on Friday, October 31st in Farmville, Virginia at 9:45 a.m.
#GoHPU x #DefendTheTeam
