MEMPHIS, Tenn.- The Berry College women's cross country team shocked the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) by seizing their first conference championship since 2016 in an unanticipated victory over powerhouse Centre College, who entered the season as the favored team with an impressive seven-year title streak.
The Vikings proved that rankings are just numbers, and when it comes time for the gun to go off, the team that team wants it the most is the one that hoists the trophy at the finish line. On Saturday morning at the SAA Women's Cross Country Championship in Memphis, Berry wanted it more.
Berry finished with a combined score of 30, while the Colonels fell just six points shy of the Vikings with team score of 36 points. With Berry and Centre securing 13 of the top 16 placements, the six-point margin ultimately came down to a matter of mere seconds.
Rhodes finished in third place with 83 points on the morning. The University of the South and Hendrix tackled fourth and fifth, respectively, while Millsaps and Oglethorpe were at the bottom of the team standings.
Securing second place in her junior season's most significant meet,
Anna Ayers finished with a time of 22:14.93, just nine seconds behind the leader, guiding her teammates to success.
Anna Rose found herself in a foot race with runners from Hendrix and Centre as she was entering her last kilometer. Rose, a senior who has found herself in the face of adversity before, used to experience and prestige to run the fastest race of her career. With a personal record of 22:26.09, Rose passed her two foes for a third-place finish. Ayers and Rose were recognized as members of the 2024 First Team All-SAA for their top five performances.
Ariel Ellis has been amongst the most reliable and consistent Vikings this season, and she did everything but disappoint her team this morning. The junior, sandwiched between two Colonels, ran her fastest race of her long career with a time of 23:05.49 for sixth place. Following in Ellis' footsteps,
Olivia Lambert ran a personal best of 23:37.75 for an eighth-place finish. These two Vikings were awarded Second Team All-SAA recognition for their top ten performances.
Rounding out the scoring for the Vikings was
Emma Lambert. Like her sister, Lambert achieved a personal best of 23:53.18 for 11th place. Other notable performers for the Vikings were Sinclaire Denney and
Isabella Tedesco, who placed 15th and 16th, respectively. Lambert and Denney earned All-SAA Honorable Mention accolades.
The Vikings will get to work for the NCAA South Region Championship in Clinton, Mississippi on Nov. 16 for a chance to qualify for Nationals in late November.
