Women’s Cross Country

On the heels of another first-place finish by senior Valeria Angel, the Lady Lions came in fourth place out of 16 teams at the USA South Conference race on Oct. 30.

“I felt good, strong, and ready to race, and I did not feel pressure,” said Angel. “I wanted to win again, so I was prepared to try and fight for that win!” I am nervous about Regionals because it is my last race, but I am excited to see how I will do and hopefully be able to PR.”

There were four people who finished in the top 15 (out of 113 runners). Piedmont’s top four contenders were Angel, Jaycie Ponce, Addie Bolton and Josey George. Angel was able to defend her title with a time of 23:01, shattering Piedmont’s previous record. Ponce came in fifth place with a time of 23:42. Bolton came in 12th place with a time of 24:37, and George came in 13th place with a time of 24:48.

Angel was also named Runner of the Year for the USA South Conference and First Team All-Conference. Ponce was also a part of that First Team All-Conference. Bolton and George were named Second Team All-Conference.

“I was honestly kind of nervous going into the race because it was my first conference race, and I wanted to perform well for my team,” said Ponce. “I am very happy with my results because I was able to PR and make First Team All-Conference. I was definitely shocked with my results, and I am excited going into Regionals.”

The Lady Lions will compete at Regionals which will be held at Spartanburg, NC on Nov. 13 and they will hope to make it into the NCAA Division III race.

–Leo Galarza

Women’s Soccer

The Lady Lions hosted Florida College in a rare Monday morning game in the second game of the USA South Tournament. 

The Lions put the first point on the board with junior Joanna Tsesmelis scoring her first point of the season. Freshman Haylee Dornan — usually a goalkeeper — showed her versatility with her first goal of the season. Junior Kaylee King scored the final goal, assisted by Dornan.

“You can say that we just has a solid game on all parts of the field, and it was a great opportunity to show the depth of our bench especially going into final 4 this weekend,” Junior Abby Ryan said.

With the 3-0 win, the Lions advance to the semifinal round of the USA South Tournament, and will host Maryville College on Friday, Nov. 5.

–Walker Brown

Men’s Cross Country

Piedmont University’s men’s cross country concluded a great conference season last weekend at North Carolina Wesleyan, finishing fourth out of 13 teams that competed. This marks the third straight year under head coach Jamie Jimison that the team has a top-five finish.

“I think it was a good season as coaches we try to reflect and understand what we did right and what we did wrong, but as a whole, it was a strong season,” head coach Jamie Jimison said.

The men received two All-Conference honors. The First Team selection came from senior Connor Moranos who finished seventh overall with a time of 26:08.7, just eight seconds shy of former lion Bryce Griggs. The Second Team selection came from Junior Gary Halverson who finished eighth overall with a time of 26:11.5.

Although the team wanted to bring home the trophy, especially after being so close the last two years they have to settle with placing fourth behind Southern Virginia, Berea and Covenant. “Those top three teams are really good teams, and those teams came prepared and ready to compete, said Jimison. ” We always want to perform better, but I know that those guys went out and gave the best they could on that day.”

The Piedmont Lions still have the Regional Meet to prepare for, which will take place at Converse University on Nov.13.

–Christophe Donsereaux

Women’s Golf

On Tuesday, Oct. 26 the Lady Lions finished their season 14th out of 17 teams in the Chick-Fil-A Collegiate Invitational in Rome, Georgia.

The Lady Lions were once again led by Sarah Fox who scored an 85 in the final round. Fox would finish t-46th in the tournament. Lizzie Hamilton would score an 86 improving from her first round.

Savannah Barefoot would once again hit an 89 in the final round and Mattie Morris would score a 91 in her second round of the contest. Selah Anderson would then finish off her season hitting a 98 in the final round for the team.

Carson Weiner, who competed as an individual player, would score an 88 in her final round. She would finish 56th in the individual round. The Lady Lions finished off their season in Rome and look to keep working hard for the spring season.

–James Whitmer

Men’s Golf

The Piedmont Lions men’s golf B team concluded their season this fall placing 8th out of 19 in the Chick-fil-A Invitational.

“The Chick-fil-A Invitational was a great way to end the season for some of the guys that had not had the opportunity to travel yet,” said head coach JP Kircher. “Getting that experience is so important for the future of our program. Individually, Matt Ariza and Connor Hixson both had under par rounds during the tournament.”

Hixson got into the top 10 on the leaderboard on the second day by a 2-under 70. He also carded three birdies and only one bogey which gave him his career-best score since being a Lion.
“It was a strong field, and we were able to beat some good programs in difficult wind,” Kircher said.

The Lions ended in 8th place as Emory’s B team took home the trophy, concluding the fall 2021 season.

–Hailey Johnson

Volleyball

The Piedmont volleyball team finished their last games of the regular season last week.

They faced Bob Jones University on Oct. 26, losing 3-1. They ended the season with senior night, honoring defensive specialist Sara Dicarlo and libero/defensive specialist Jessica Beil. They hosted a Tri-Match Friday October 29, against Maryville College and Huntingdon College, losing both games 3-0.

Piedmont was hot offensively this season. They capped the regular season off with a grand total of 821 kills, led by freshman outside hitter/right side hitter Jenna Ash with 162 and junior outside hitter/right side hitter Bri King with 153. The Lady Lions also had 779 assists — led by sophomore setter Brooklyn Gunn with 248, and 144 service aces, led by King with 22 and junior
middle blocker/right side hitter Hannah Kate Chadwell with 21.

The Piedmont volleyball team’s defense was prevalent in both the front line and back line this season. The Lady Lions totaled 1,565 digs, led by Beil with 446 followed by sophomore libero/defensive specialist Taylor Herrmann with 206, as well as 82 total blocks, led by freshman outside hitter/ right side hitter Jessica Sconyers with 40 and Chadwell with 32.

The Piedmont volleyball team ends this season with a final record of 6-20 and a conference record of 5-11.

Although the season didn’t go as originally hoped, seniors Dicarlo and Beil said they were happy be able to finish their careers at Piedmont.

“It’s meant the world to me,” said Dicarlo. “I’ve been through a lot to get to this point. I’m really happy to be here and I’m glad I got to finish this season with all my teammates by my side.”

“Piedmont has been a huge part of my life mentally and physically,” said Beil. “My coaches have been like parents for me here. Coach Rachel and Coach McCormack have been the people that I go to for everything. My teammates have been my roommates, my co-workers, and my best friends. I’m happy about how they played and how we went out, but it’s just sad I’m not going to step foot onto the court anymore.”

–Matthew Kodrowski

Cycling

This past weekend, the Piedmont University Cycling Team traveled to Helen, Georgia, to race in the Georgia Gravel Grinduro cycling event.

The race takes place on a gravel track with beautiful scenery throughout. Due to the race being on gravel, the competition is not as crucial as traditional races — nature surrounds the entire track, and riders are encouraged to stop and take pictures for their  social media, receiving a a 30-second deduction to their overall time for doing so.

Despite the race being less crucial, Piedmont’s cyclists still managed to dish out impressive results. In the Grinduro category of the event, Jaden Grimes managed to place third while his teammate, Nate Moser, finished just 2 seconds behind in fourth. The duo maintained a similar pace as Grimes had an average speed of 19 mph, while Moser averaged 18.9 mph.

Ryhlee Wittrock continues her impressive season as she finished first in the scramble plus section of the event. 

Lake Russell, Georgia, is the next stop for the Lion’s cycling team as they compete in the Currahee’s Revenge cycling event on Dec. 4.

–Matt Loftin