Men’s Cross Country

Over the weekend Piedmont University’s Men’s Cross Country team ran their final regular-season meet of the year. The team at the Berry XC Invitational at Berry College on Saturday, Oct. 16th. They finished sixth out of 16 total teams but lost to conference rival Covenant who placed 4th.

Head Coach Jamie Jimison was pleased with the way his team performed after having two weeks since their last race. “Some of our guys ran really well, and we had some guys that tried some things different at it worked out well for them.”

Senior Connor Moranos and Junior Gary Halverson led the Piedmont men across the finish line one again finishing at a time of 26:39.2 and 27:07.9 respectfully. Although this time around Piedmont had another top-five finisher in Juinor Jacob Balot.

“He was actually some who tried something new this time around, Jimison said. “He started taking his race out slower, in which part gives him more confidence and the ability finish the race stronger.”

The team’s next meet is the Conference championships which are to be held at North Carolina Wesleyan and scheduled for Oct. 30th. The top 12 competitors are looking forward to moving on with the coach’s message to the team, “The quantities have dropped, now let’s focus on quality.”

–Christophe Donsereux

Women’s Cross Country

The Lady Lions competed at the Berry Invitational Oct. 16, 2021, finishing fourth as a team.

The meet gave another top-five finish for senior Valeria Angel, who finished in fifth with a time of 23:49.1. Behind Angel was junior Jaycie Ponce coming in 17th place with a time of 24:32.3. Juniors Josey George and Addie Bolton finished 37th and 39th.

“Although the course was different from other times when running at Berry, I performed well,” Ponce said. “I had to push myself because there was no one around me, and it was my first time experiencing this season.” I am excited for the Conference race and to see how well we will perform at the race.”

Juniors Madelyn Williams and Imani Vincent competed at their very first cross-country race.  Williams came in 93rd place with a time of 28:38.0. Vincent came in 109th place with a time of 29:48.0. Williams was on the softball team, and Vincent is currently on the tennis team.

“I used to run cross-country in high school, so being able to race again definitely brought back memories,” said Williams. “I missed running, and I am excited to be back racing competitive again.”

“I was nervous the entire week, and I had no idea on what to expect on my first race,” said Vincent. “ It was a great start, and it got tough towards the end; my team helped me finish cheering me on.”

The Lady Lions will race at North Carolina Wesleyan for the USA South Conference Championship on Oct. 30.

–Leo Galarza

Men’s Golf

This past week, the Piedmont men’s golf team competed in the Tartan Invitational and tied for sixth place.

“Laurel Valley was a treat for us to play, one of the most historic and challenging courses that a college team at any level will compete at,” said junior Fred Roberts. “I feel like we have a good mindset for tough courses though, going back to our conference win last spring.”

Roberts led the team during the tournament with a 3-over 75 for the second consecutive round and taking home a T-15 finish out of 66 golfers. He also led with three birdies in his final round and moved higher on the leaderboard, coming back from an opening 83.

“I went in expecting to hold on for dear life and that’s pretty much what happened,” said senior Michael Clardy. “I think my scores, while not great, were acceptable and the team started doing some really good things.”

Clardy carded a birdie and an eagle on back-to-back holes and came in with a 6-over 78. Clardy stayed consistent throughout the event, posting scores of 79,79 and 78. The team ended the event in a tie for sixth place alongside Huntington.

The Lions are currently competing in the Golfweek Dlll Fall Invitational which will conclude on Oct. 19.

–Hailey Johnson

Women’s Golf

On Oct. 4-5 the Lady Lions competed at the Rhodes Classic in Millington, Tennessee. The Lady Lions would finish 4th in the tournament scoring a 317 in the final round after scoring a 341 in the first round.

Once again Piedmont were led by freshmen Sarah Fox and Lizzie Hamilton. Both freshmen would score an 84 in the first while Fox scored a 76 and Hamilton would score a 77 in the final round. Fox would finish in the top-10 of the tournament while Hamilton would tie for 12th overall.

Freshman Selah Anderson and sophomore Savannah Barefoot would both finish off the tournament with a score of 169. Anderson got better by scoring an 83 the second round after shooting an 86 the first round. Barefoot started out by shooting an 82 the first round and finished off scoring an 87 the final round.

Senior Carson Weiner would finish just behind the two shooting a 170 scoring an 89 the first round and an 81 the final round. Sophomore Morgan Calhoun and senior Mattie Morris would both finish off with a score of 174. Calhoun shot an 89,85 and Morris would shoot an 87 both days.

The Lady Lions finish off their season in Rome, Georgia at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational. The Lady Lions look to cap off the season with a great finish to try and win the final tournament of the season.

–James Whitmer

Men’s Soccer

The Piedmont men’s soccer team fell short in their most recent game, but they are looking to cap off their regular season with a win.

The Lions fell short in their contest against the Emory Eagles, their first against a ranked opponent. They were held to just one goal coming from sophomore Owen Gates. Graduate student, Cameron Earls, is normally the key to the Lion’s offensive game plan, but he was held to only two shots on goal in the game.

The Lions are coming to the end of their 2021 season. With one more game to go, they will be fighting for a spot to play in the USA South Conference Tournament. With a regular season record of 6-9, many would expect an easy path to a tournament
appearance. With a 2-3 conference record, a loss to Covenant College could mean the end to the season.

It seems there may be a difference in the level of play between the Lion’s regular season opponents and Conference opponents. Lule Tekilemariam says, “In conference games you never know what’s going to happen, you can’t count out any team. With a non conference game you can relax because it’s not as crucial.”

The men will be taking on the Covenant College Scots on Oct. 25 in Lookout Mountain. The Lions will be looking to hand the Scots their first conference loss as their record now stands at 4-0-2.

–Noah Aaron

Women’s Soccer

Another game. Another overtime victory. As the Lady Lions traveled to Huntingdon, it almost seems they’re trying to keep the fans on their toes with the amount of overtime wins they’ve had this season.

The Oct. 16 game was another back-and-forth battle, with the game scoreless until the 42nd minute when junior Abby Judge kicks a corner kick to senior Julia Gib giving her first goal of the season. This would get the team going. 

The Lady Lions would keep the lead until the second half when Huntingdon would go up 2-1 until the 97th minute when senior Julia Gib would be able to tie it up, sending the game to another overtime.

A new hero shone for the Lions as freshman Breanna Nine hit the game-winning shot.

“I think our team played with heart like we always do,” Junior Hailey Tigue said. “We got scored on in the last 45 seconds to tie up the game but we didn’t let it break our spirit. We fought hard from the start to finish and we came out with the win.”

–Walker Brown