ALBANY, Ga.- The Georgia Southwestern cross country team took first place at the Darton State College Mid-Season 5k this past Saturday.

Freshman Ashleigh Owens led the 5k and won the race with a time of 21:21 having a 35 second gap on the second runner and setting a personal best by shaving off 19 seconds.

Shelby Parsekian (22:11), Daria Woods (22:17) and Victoria Hickom (22:20) were the next three runners for GSW placing 5th, 6th and 7th in the race. Parsekian took 11 seconds off her time from two weeks ago and Woods dropped her time by 1:36, both setting new personal records.

Lauren Ard was the Lady Canes fifth runner to cross the finish line with a time of 22:57 placing 9th overall. Ard also set a personal record by dropping 1:14 from her 5k time two weeks ago.

"The course was a pretty tough course. It was not the type of course to run fast times," coach Brittney Skiles said. "Although it was not a big race there was still some tough competition."

The field consisted of two other teams, Darton State College and Chipola College. GSW took 1st with 28 points, Darton finished 2nd with 39 points and Chipola took 3rd with 43 points.

The Lady Canes will be back on the road this Friday October 3rd to race at the 3rd Annual Point University Invitational at West Point, Ga.

GSW Individual Results

1. Ashleigh Owens- 21:21

5. Shelby Parsekian- 22:11

6. Daria Woods- 22:17

7. Victoria Hickom- 22:20

9. Lauren Ard- 22:57

12. Anna Kate Shaw- 24:02

15. Anneliese Leahy- 25:26