Men’s and women’s cross country competed in the Conference Carolinas Championships at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville, NC Oct. 24. The women’s team placed 10th out of 14 teams, and the men placed 13th out of 15, finalizing their ranks in the conference for the Fall 2025 season.
Coach Andre Kidd could not be more pleased with the women’s team.
“I think the performance was incredibly impressive,” noted Kidd. “For us to not have had a women’s program for three years, and then they finish 10th out of 15, it was really, really cool to see.”
Assistant Coach Bus Baker agreed.
“I know that’s not the benchmark,” said Baker, “and that’s not the goal–but the fact that they beat five teams in Division II, I think is really, really huge.”
Racing first was the Lady Panthers, competing in a 6-kilometer race against 13 Conference Carolinas teams, one kilometer longer than the traditional season race. North Greenville University took first at the meet with a score of 49 points, Converse University took second with 88, and Lees McRae College in third with 97. Lees McRae’s Megan Knapp was the first finisher overall for the women, racing with a time of 22.25.03.
First-year Carly Carwile led the team as the first Ferrum runner to cross the finish line with a time of 25.11.23. She took 29th place in a field of 109.
One minute later, first-years Izzy Weigel and Sarah Hudgins finished together, showing the true meaning of being a team while competing in the individual sport. Weigel took 46th with a time of 26.40.56 and Hudgins took 47th with a time of 26.40.64.
Kidd spent the season encouraging them to pace one another and get their times as low and close to each other as possible.
“It ended up that they were side by side in the middle of the biggest pack in the entire field, so that was really, really fun to see,” offered Kidd. “They have a great relationship.”
Finishing strong for the Panthers, first-year Mi’Yah Young finished 69th with a time of 28.03.94 and first-year Chloe Smith finished 92nd with a time of 30.36.69, giving the team a score of 260, ranking between Young Harris College and Emmanuel University.
Carwile was more that satisfied with the conclusion of her first season here.
“Overall, I was–and to be completely honest–still I am so impressed with how this first season went,” said Carwile. “I wouldn’t have asked for anything more. I progressed so much more than I ever expected and was able to PR nearly every single race. I am so incredibly proud of my entire team and how we have all progressed throughout the entirety of the season.”
UNC-Pembrook took both the overall and first place win for the men’s 8-kilometer race, with the low score of 42, and Edward Carney finished with the time 25.45.74. Carney was closely followed by Lees McRae’s Josh Brett just a second behind for second place.
For the Panthers, first-year Damani Veney-Epps completed the course first, taking 56th out of 151 runners with a time of 28.19.51. First-year Guillermo Basurto was just seconds behind in 63rd at 28.31.71.
Veney-Epps and Basurto have been competing for the top spots throughout the season. Kidd encouraged the friendly competition, finding a benefit for both athletes.
“Guillermo and Damani have battled between the one and two spots all year,” Kidd explained. “They did a really good job of putting their egos aside. Carlos (Menendez) has also made some great strides throughout the season, too.”
In 84th was first-year Menendez with a time of 29.15.79. Just 30 seconds after Menendez and before junior Seth Truett, junior Josh Mills placed 92nd at 29.33.72. Truett took 102nd with a time of 30.30.09.
Ending the race and closing the season for the Panthers, first-year Peter Barnett placed 110th with a time of 30.23.82 and junior Kayden Ryder placed 145th at 35.08.90. Ryder had returned to the running route for the first time after a season of injury.
The Fall 2025 season of cross country has come to a close with PR’s, records broken, and standards set. Still, Kidd has high hopes for the years to come.
“I feel like it’s going to keep going,” he said. “We have made a lot of progress, and we’ve learned a lot about ourselves.”
For Kidd and Baker, it’s about more than a championship title.
“We have been receiving emails and we’re getting phone calls just because our program is starting to take off. It’s building. And the biggest thing for us is to put this program on the map,” Kidd concluded.
