GAINESVILLE, Ga. – For the fifth time this season, junior Olivia Rodriguez led the Augusta University women's cross country team and earned All-Conference honors by helping the Jaguars finish sixth overall at the 25th annual Peach Belt Conference Championships on Saturday at the University of North Georgia.
Rodriguez finished 11th overall out of 97 student-athletes with a time of 23:27.6. The top 15 runners were named to the 2015 Peach Belt All-Conference team.
Montevallo defended their championship and won the event. The Montevallo Falcons are the first repeat-winners since Columbus State finished off a run of six straight titles from 2005-10. Young Harris' Nancy Murgor won the PBC Individual Championship with a final-stretch sprint to edge defending race champion Katie Nelson of Montevallo.
UM finished with 26 points in the team standings, easily defending their title. Nelson, Hannah Evans, Sierra Millsaps, Katherine Terino and Cheyenne Thompson all finished in the top 10 and all were named All-Conference along with Anna Leinheiser who finished in 10th but was not a part of the team score.
Jags sophomore Diana Petrmichlova crossed in 24:13.5 to take 25th and Jordan Humphrey earned a 32nd place in 24:35.5. Amber Palermo notched 37th in 24:44.6, Taylor Shaw 42nd in 24:55.1, and Morgan Ryffe just outside the top 50 with a time of 25:32.7 to take 56th.
Macy Hayes notched 75th, Jasmine Payne 80th, and Sarah Hossack 90th to wrap up Augusta.
Montevallo took first, North Georgia second, UNC Pembroke third, Columbus State fourth, Young Harris fifth, Augusta sixth, Flagler seventh, Georgia College eighth, Clayton State ninth, Georgia Southwestern 10th, USC Aiken 11th, and Francis Marion 12th.
The Wingate Bulldogs host the NCAA Southeast Regionals this year at the Wingate XC Facility on Saturday, Nov. 7 and the NCAA Championships are slated for Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Miss.
PBC Women's Cross Country
Individual Awards
All-Sportsmanship Team
Diana Petrmichlova, Augusta
Taylor Galvin, Clayton State
Kayla Parsons, Columbus State
Shelby Garbett, Flagler
Gabby Gosnell, Francis Marion
Brittney Schwind, Georgia College
Ashleigh Owens, Georgia Southwestern
Anna Leinheiser, Montevallo
Kristin Cain, UNC Pembroke
Emily Sims, North Georgia
Samantha Lisek, USC Aiken
Nicole Smith, Young Harris
Elite 15 Award
(Presented by GradesFirst)
Kayla Parsons, Columbus State
PBC Runner of the Year
(Voted on prior to championship)
Katie Nelson, Montevallo
PBC Coach of the Year
Tommy Barksdale, Montevallo
PBC Freshman of the Year
Nancy Murgor, Young Harris
PBC Individual Champion
Nancy Murgor, Young Harris
All-Conference Team
Nancy Murgor, Young Harris
Katie Nelson, Montevallo
Hannah Evans, Montevallo
Sierra Milksops, Montevallo
Maia Kuhnen, Clayton State
Rayna Green, Columbus State
Brittany Truitt, North Georgia
Katherine Terino, Montevallo
Cheyenne Thompson, Montevallo
Anna Leinheiser, Montevallo
Olivia Rodriguez, Augusta University
Lauren Rodriguez, Flagler
Jenna Tilton, North Georgia
Nicole Smith, Young Harris
Lea Tardanico, UNC Pembroke
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