Lady Flames picked to repeat as GSC Cross Country champions

Sep 4

Sep 4 Lady Flames picked to repeat as GSC Cross Country champions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With the season just around the corner, the Lee University women’s cross-country team was picked by the conference coaches to repeat as Gulf South Conference champions. Lee has won the last eight GSC championships. The Lady Flames claimed 11 of the 12 first place votes and earned 121 points. The University of Alabama in Huntsville was second with 108 points. Mississippi College was third and had the final first place vote with 103 points. The University of West Florida and Union University closed out the top five spots.

Lee claimed the top five spots and put eight runners in the top 10 to record its eighth straight title last year. The Lady Flames posted a perfect score with 15 points. The Lee women became the first team in GSC history with a perfect score. They are now tied with Harding for the conference record for the most titles.

At the NCAA South Region last year, Lady Flames set a low score record of 18 points to record the program's fifth consecutive NCAA Division II South Region Championship. The Lady Flames had the top three finishers of the 5K race. Four of the top five and six of the top 10 were from Lee as the Lady Flames finished with 18 points.

They recorded 284 points to finish ninth out of 34 teams at the 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. This was the second straight ninth-place finish for the Lady Flames at the DII championships. The program's best finish was eighth in 2021.

This season the Lady Flames will compete in three regular season meets. They will kick off the season on Friday, September 12 in Huntsville, Ala. running in the Southern Showcase. The second meet will be the NCAA DII National Championship Preview in Kenosha, Wisc. The final regular season meet will be back in the Rocket City (Huntsville, Ala.) as Lee will run in the UAH Charger Invite.

The GSC Championships will be held in Memphis, Tenn. on October 25. The NCAA South Regional will be on November 8 in Lakeland, Fla. The national Championship will be in Kenosha, Wisc. on November 22.

GSC Women’s Cross Country Preseason Poll

1. Lee (11) – 121

2. UAH – 108

3. Mississippi College (1) – 103

4. West Florida – 91

5. Union – 81

6. Montevallo – 70

7. Christian Brothers – 57

8. Trevecca Nazarene – 48

9. Valdosta State – 37

10. Auburn Montgomery – 36

11. West Alabama – 29