Belhaven’s women placed third with 97 points at the CCS Cross Country Championship on Friday at John Hunt Cross Country Park in Huntsville, Alabama. The finish was the program’s best at a CCS championship, improving on sixth place in 2024 and seventh with 152 points last year.
Senior Ashley Davidson led the Blazers, finishing 16th in 25:49.2. She cut eight seconds from her personal best, set at the 2025 Watson Collegiate Classic. Seven of Belhaven’s eight runners recorded personal bests in the 6K race.
Freshman Virtasia Shepard finished 31st in 27:29.6, followed by Courtney Adams in 32nd at 27:35.7 and Jocelyn Belonga in 33rd at 27:48.3. All three set personal records. Brycelyn Townsend placed 34th in 29:03.0, more than a minute and a half faster than her time at last year’s conference meet.
Abigail DeJesus also set a personal best, finishing 37th in 29:15.4. Mary Anderson placed 40th in 29:34.7, and Emily Gaudet was 43rd in 31:01.7; both set personal records.
Covenant won the women’s team title with 22 points. Evangelia Berry led the Scots, winning the individual race in 23:07.1.
Belhaven did not score as a team in the men’s 8K. Peyton Vandevuss finished 39th in 32:53.6, his fastest 8K of the season. He improved seven places from last year’s CCS Championship and finished 0.8 seconds short of the personal best he set there. Covenant won the men’s title with 18 points, placing five runners in the top six. Aidan DeVries won in 27:13.2.
