BREVARD, N.C. – Salem College women's cross country earned a fourth-place finish at the 2026 USA South Conference Championship on Friday, recording 132 points in the women's 6K race. Six of the seven runners recorded a personal best in the fourth place finish. 

Seven runners represented Salem at the conference championship, with freshman Beatrix Alvarez leading the team with a 15th-place finish in a time of 25:39.4. Southern Virginia captured the conference championship with 23 points, followed by Pfeiffer with 54 points and Meredith with 65. Salem finished fourth, ahead of Methodist (156), Mary Baldwin (159) and Brevard (172).

Alvarez paced Salem throughout the championship race, crossing the finish line in a personal best 25:39.4 to secure a top-15 finish. Allyson Freeman followed with a strong performance, running a personal best placing 23rd overall with a time of 28:08.9.

Triana Smallwood was the third Salem runner to cross the finish line, running a personal best recording a time of 29:45.9 to finish 31st overall. Madeline Adams finished 34th with a personal best with a time of 30:54.8, while Olivia Weeks rounded out Salem's five scoring runners with a 39th-place finish in 31:54.3.

Sophie Miller followed closely behind, finishing 40th with a time of 31:58.9, while Anika Peight placed 41st in 33:01.0. Kaitlin Kubicki also represented Salem, crossing the finish line with a personal best, 35:43.4 to finish 47th overall. Salem's five scoring runners combined for 132 points, securing the team's fourth-place finish in the conference standings.