FROM STAFF REPORTS

MONTEVALLO – University of Montevallo freshman Cheyenne Thompson was named the Peach Belt Conference women’s cross country Runner of the Week after claiming the individual championship in the fourth annual Remembrance Run in her first ever collegiate race Sept. 7.

The freshman from Chelsea, Ala., paced the field in the 6K race with her time of 23:05.99, which set a new freshman record for the Montevallo women’s cross country program and placed her fifth in the record book for the top 6K times in school history.

Thompson bested the previous mark set by Lauren Recchia, who recorded a time of 23:11.40 during her freshman season at the 2011 NCAA Division II Southeast Region championship race, by more than five seconds.

Thompson won her first collegiate race by more than four seconds as she crossed the finish line ahead of second-place finisher Racquel Valadez of Clayton State.

Thompson helped the Falcons to a seventh-place finish in the season-opening race, as Montevallo finished ahead of Darton College, USC Aiken, Georgia Southwestern, Chipola College and Clark Atlanta in the Remembrance Run.

Thompson and her teammates will return to action Saturday, Sept. 14 at the fifth annual Gulf Coast Stampede in Pensacola, Fla.