CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Saint Louis' women's cross country squad finished third at the 2025 Atlantic 10 Conference Championships, the program's best finish ever. The Championships were held Saturday at the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course in Cedarville, Ohio.

The Billikens' top five all finished among the first 32 finishers. Leading the way was sophomore Emery Mayfield, who collected All-Conference honors by finishing 14th overall in a 6K time of 21:33.3.

Clara Gillen was close behind, placing 17th in a time of 21:36.8. Also scoring for the Billikens were Sophia Pelligreen (22nd, 21:48.3), Emily Morden (23rd, 21:50) and Renee Ballard (22:00.3).

SLU finished third with 108 points, both of which are programs bests. The Bills previously placed fourth four times, last in 2014.

"The women were outstanding today," SLU head coach Jon Bell said. "I couldn't be more proud of these women and Coach Rexi Parcells for their performance. This group put themselves in the race and fought all the way through the finish line. It was a total team effort and a great reminder of how great team competition can be."  

The men's 8K kicked off the event. Manny Vela placed first among the Billikens and 27th overall with a time of 24:45.3. Finishing just a few spots behind was Lukasz Iwanowski, who finished 30th in a time of 24:47.8.

Also scoring on the men's side were Aleksandr Acuna (48th, 25:10.2), Tyler Schweizer (66th, 25:31.3) and Ronnie Brown (71st, 25:36.2).

As a team, the Billikens placed eighth overall with 229 points.

"Honestly, it was not a good day for our men," Bell said. "Manny Vela and Lukasz Iwanowski put themselves near the front, but it takes five guys to get the job done.  We just didn't have it today. We'll evaluate where we are, and make the necessary improvements to be more competitive."

The Billikens are back in action on Nov. 14 for the NCAA Midwest Regionals, held in Stillwater, Okla.