Men’s Cross Country
The Piedmont Men’s Cross Country team placed 5th at the Roanoke XC Invitational, highlighted by senior Walker Capelle bringing home a new school record in the 8k, posting a time of 25:21.2.
“First and foremost, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the support and training from Coach Jimison,” Capelle said. “He’s been keeping me on the right path all season long to help me achieve my goals. It was a great experience breaking the school record this weekend. It’s something I have been looking forward to all season long.”
Along with breaking the record, Capelle finished 18th overall in the race, while senior Layton Bradford was right behind in 26th place with a time of 25:57.3. Senior Tucker Cox finished in 26:27.3, solidifying the 35th spot, while sophomore Grady Sanders recorded a time of 27:29.5. Newcomer Brody Geckler finished the race with a time of 27:38.8, while sophomore Parker Snelson crossed the finish line at 28:15.0. Sammy Maddox completed the race in 30 minutes and 53.2 seconds,
Freshmen Lance Morley and David Moore also competed this weekend and finished in 33:11.6, while freshman David Moore crossed the finish line in 36:30.1.
Capelle said his and the team’s performance helps them get closer to their ultimate goal — winning another conference championship.
“It’s a significant step in the right direction, and I look forward to improving. I am eyeing a 2nd CCS title and a shot at qualifying for Nationals this year,” he said. “This weekend, we had a lot of great PRs and success on both sides of the team. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, but sticking with the training pays off for all of us, and this meeting allowed us to show how dominant we have been all season.”
The Lions will next take the course on Friday, Nov. 1, competing in the 8k CCS Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.
—Isaiah Jones
Women’s Cross Country
The Piedmont women’s cross country team placed 9th this weekend at the Roanoke XC invitational.
“This weekend showed me what I’m capable of and made me confident going into training before conference in a couple weeks,” said junior Bella Caccamo, who ran a personal record (PR) time of 25:23.6. “Leading up to conference I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing by staying positive of the outcome and trusting in our training.”
The team continues to show pride as multiple athletes, along with Caccamo, set personal records at the meet. Junior Skyler Skeeber led the way with a PR of 23:03:4 and placed 37th. Alongside Skeeber, junior Hannah Marlowe also gained a PR with a time of 24:52:3. Senior Tanea Davis followed close with her own PR of 26:06:1.
The Lions prepare for the CCS Championship in Jacksonville, Mississippi on Friday, Nov. 1.
—Skylar Smith
Women’s Soccer
The Piedmont women’s soccer team played two tough conference matches last week, dropping their first against Asbury 3-2 on Oct. 17 and bringing Covenant to a 0-0 draw on Oct. 19.
Against Asbury (2-1-1), the Lions were held to just two shots on goal, both of which reached the back of the net. Each was scored in the second half, with hometown freshman Addi Banks logging her first goal of the year at 57:45. Paige Kluba continued her stellar season with the Lions second goal at 84:30.
A 3-0 deficit for the Lions near the beginning of the second half was too much to overcome, with Asbury hanging on for the 3-2 win.
“We struggled with traveling and figuring out how to stop their attack,” Kluba said. “We made a strong comeback in the second half, but unfortunately did not have enough time to tie the game.”
The Lions’ next contest was against Covenant on Oct. 19. Both teams headed into the game tied for first in the CCS with a 4-1 record … and ended the game still tied for first. Through a hard-fought battle, no team emerged victorious, as the game ended 0-0. The Lions were outshot by the Scots 11-9 and never had a corner kick.
Hannah Thompson had a tremendous game in goal for the Lions, locking down the Scots with three saves and assisting in Piedmont’s clean sheet.
“We did a great job of shutting down their strong offense and defense, while creating some opportunities for ourselves.” Kluba said. “We played very well as a team and showed great consistency and determination.”
As the season nears its close, the Lions will finish conference play against LaGrange on Oct. 23 and Maryville on Oct. 25.
“It will be an intense week, so we are making sure to take care of our bodies and properly prepare for our upcoming games,” Kluba said.
The loss and draw bring the Lions record to 6-4-4, with a strong 4-1-1 conference record with just two games left in the regular season.
—Grant Prather
Volleyball
The Piedmont University volleyball team faced a tough week, suffering a 3-0 loss to Bob Jones on Oct. 16, followed by a pair of defeats in their final home tri-match of the season on Oct. 19.
In the tri-match, the Lady Lions were defeated by Belhaven 3-2 and Maryville 3-0. After a week of adversity — in a season of adversity where the team has had three different head coaches — the Piedmont volleyball team’s record stands at 3-15, (3-7 in the CCS).
“Our season hasn’t been the easiest to navigate, but I think we all rely on each other to get through the adversity,” said senior setter Vanessa Manzo. “We are all on the same page of taking each day, match, practice at a time and just have fun.”
During the match against Bob Jones, Piedmont fell short in all three sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-19). Manzo had all 31 of the team’s assists, with junior Katie Hubbard leading the team with nine kills. During the tri-match against Belhaven, the Lady Lions put up a tough fight, losing in five sets 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 8-15 while posting a total of 51 kills to Belhaven’s 48. Seniors Brit Tallevast and Jessica Sconyers led the team with 19 and 12 kills, respectively. In the following match, the Lady Lions were swept by Maryville 25-18, 25-20, 25-18, despite 16 kills by Hubbard.
The volleyball team will host senior night against Wesleyan College at Cave Arena on Oct. 23.
—Ansleigh Dubose
Baseball
The Lions baseball team went 1-1 in their scrimmages against Division II University of North Georgia on Oct.18.
“The first game as a whole, I think we were a little nervous because that’s the best competition we are going to face this season,” said senior pitcher Adam Metivier. “The second game we did a better job controlling our breathing and started playing how we played all fall.”
The Lions started off hot in game one with three singles in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. They held their lead for three innings until UNG’s first basemen hit a two-run home run. Later that inning, the Knight Hawks’ third basemen hit a three-run home run to take a 5-1 lead. The Lions struggled to score more runs and could not contain UNG’s bats, leading to a 19-3 loss in game one.
The second game would have much better results as the Lions found a way to score three runs in the first inning. Metivier started on the bump, giving the Lions a solid three innings. Adam went three scoreless, only allowing one hit. His performance sparked the team into scoring five more runs throughout the game and holding UNG to four runs, which led them to an 8-4 win.
“Getting our first win ever against UNG, I have high hopes for this season,” said Metivier. “We have a lot of depth in the pitching staff, as well as our bats in the lineup.”
The Lions will start their regular season on Feb. 14 in Orange, California, facing a top-ranked Division III team Chapman University.
—Nate Courtwright
