ADA, Okla. – The Harding women’s cross country team placed five among the top nine finishers to capture the 2014 Great American Conference Championship title, the Lady Bisons’ third GAC crown in four years, on Saturday at the Pontotoc Technology Center.
Dallis Bailey, a member of Harding’s two previous GAC titles, led the way by finishing second in the time of 19:32.0. Kelsey Taylor took fourth, followed by Sylvie Mueller in sixth, Madison Drennan in eighth and Kirstie Smith in ninth.
2014 GAC Women's Cross Country Championship Results
Southern Arkansas finished second for the second year in a row. Carli Langley became the first non-Harding runner to claim the individual title. She completed her dominating season by besting the 102-runner field by 59 seconds. Virginia Ney placed seventh and Ashlynne Foley followed in 11th.
East Central took third, led by ReGina Germaine’s third-place finish. Freshman Marisa Meza came in fifth for the Tigers. Southwestern Oklahoma State, seventh in 2013, took fourth. Freshman Brooke Lizotte led the Bulldogs with a 12th-place showing. Southern Nazarene, competing as a scoring team for the first time in the GAC, took fifth. Megan Johnson placed inside the top 10 for the third consecutive year.
2014 All-GAC Women’s Cross Country Release
Southeastern Oklahoma State finished sixth - paced by Haylee Story’s 18th-place finish - followed by Arkansas Tech and Ouachita Baptist. The Golden Suns’ Mary Simmons finished in 17th place.
Henderson State placed ninth and Arkansas-Monticello rounded out the team standings. Northwestern Oklahoma State’s five runners ran as unattached individuals. Brittany Urban led the Rangers, finishing in 26th.