OAKWOOD, Ga. — The Albany State University women's cross country team continued its strong start to the 2026 season Friday evening, placing sixth at the UNG XC Invitational at the University of North Georgia Cross Country Course.
The Golden Rams were led by Brea Vann, who turned in another impressive performance at the front of the ASU pack. Vann completed the 5K course in 19:27.5 to finish ninth overall in a field of more than 100 runners.
Vann's top-10 performance came against a field featuring several NCAA Division I programs. Eight of the first nine finishers represented Georgia Southern, Georgia State or Albany State, with Vann finishing as the lone Golden Ram inside the top 10.
Faith Thompson was the second Golden Ram across the finish line, placing 19th overall with a time of 20:11.4. Thompson continued her strong stretch after finishing ninth at the Willie Laster Invitational last week.
Sydney Haywood gave Albany State its third finisher inside the top 30, crossing the line in 28th place with a time of 20:40.0.
The Golden Rams continued to pack runners together deeper into the field. Jehzaria Middleton finished 38th with a time of 21:23.8, followed immediately by Zahriya Sullivan in 39th at 21:30.9.
Jayda Spikes crossed the line in 42nd overall with a time of 21:34.8, while Charity Tukes followed closely behind in 43rd at 21:35.2. Je'Nya Harris recorded a time of 22:37.9 to finish 53rd.
Nyidjah Ives completed the course in 25:02.3, while Gabrielle Dillard finished in 25:36.6 to round out Albany State's finishers.
The Golden Rams will return to action on Friday, Oct. 2, when they travel to Atlanta to compete in the Georgia Tech XC Invitational.
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Albany State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II-level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 12 sports: women's volleyball, women's tennis, women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball, and football, with all teams competing in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is an NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) headquartered in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and eight women's sports and is a proud member of NCAA Division II. For more information, visit www.thesiac.com.