Men’s Cross Country Takes Third, Women Fifth at Big South Conference Championships

Friday, October 30

Spartanburg, S.C.

9:00 AM

Radford University

Big South Championships

Full Results

Photo by: Radford Athletics Communications

10/30/2026 1:11:00 PM | Cross Country

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Radford men's and women's cross country teams performed well in the Big South Cross Country Championship, hosted at the Milliken Arboretum on Friday morning. The men's team placed third, their best in the conference meet since the spring of 2021, while the women took home fifth.

Kayla Fields and Logan Hamilton were both honored by the conference for making the All-Academic Team. Fields, a senior Geospatial Sciences major, made the outdoor track & field all-academic team last season and is an honors student. Hamilton, a junior Computer Science major, is also an honors student and helps tutor other student-athletes in Radford Athletics Learning Enhancement Center.

"I'm very proud of our Highlanders today!" distance coach Stephen Howard said after the meet. "We have the best community and I am so glad to have had a decent day as a culmination of all of their hard work. On the women's side I was really excited for Katelyn Campbell to have had a race that has been befitting of her training. Her mental toughness is stellar, and she is an inspiration. Faith Thomas had a big PR and steadily worked her way through the pack to place high for the team – something we've been hoping for all season!"

"For the men, I'm glad for them to have come out to make a statement of their ability," continued Howard. "We have a young and exciting group who I think are going to continue to flourish together. Spencer (Thacker) did a good job to step up for the team today and I'm happy that he made a mid-race push when he did. Logan Wheelock was clutch in his performance, which ended up being necessary to take third place. Overall, it's a great day to be a Highlander!"

MEN'S RACE
The Radford men were able to run their race and close in late, making moves up the final hill to score third place as a team with 104 points, just ahead of UNC Asheville with 111.

Thacker led the Highlanders, placing 16th with a time of 24:53.1. Though it was not a PR, the sophomore improved by 28 spots from last season's conference meet. Azrael Cabusao finished in 19th place with a time of 25:07.4, just ahead of teammate Quinlan Beegle in 20th, who set a PR with a time of 25:09.7.

Tristan Fancher took 24th in his first Big South Championship, as the freshman finished just ahead of a pair of Bulldogs with a time of 25:21.5. Fellow freshman Wheelock rounded out Radford's scoring five in 27^th with a time of 25:28.3.

Grayson Norris (40th), Hamilton (43rd), Jack Jefferies (44th), Joel Williams (47th, PR), and Owen Sexton (60th) rounded up the finishers for the Highlanders. Charleston Southern's Martin Iriondo took the win with a time of 23:45.2, helping give the Buccaneers the team win over High Point.

WOMEN'S RACE
Kayla Fields led the Radford women for the fourth time this season, taking 18th overall in her career best finish in the event with a time of 18:23.5. Cora Gentzel finished 30th with a PR time of 18:44.7. Campbell also set a new PR with a time of 18:50.7 for 34th place.

Thomas just came in at under 19-minutes, with a new PR time of 18:59.9 to finish 38th. Kaylie Dziedzina also finished with a new PR (19:02.4) to take 40th as the final of the Highlander scoring five.

Rounding out the Radford finishers were Allison Nelson (42nd), Teagan Gilhooly (44th), Seneca Scott (62nd), Emma Shirey (66th), and Claire Keefe (71st). High Point took the top spot as a team, with Brianna Malone setting a new conference meet record for her fourth outright win.

UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to Spartanburg for the third time on Friday, November 13 for the NCAA Southeast Regional. The women's 6K race begins at 10:00 a.m., and the men's 10K race is set for 11:00 at the Milliken Arboretum.

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