EARLEYSVILLE, Va. -- Furman junior Chris Knight finished 20th Friday to earn all-region honors and lead the Paladin men at the 2025 NCAA Southeast Region Championship at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va., while freshman Tessa Walter paced the Paladin women's team in 27th place.
The Furman men placed seventh with 185 points. Wake Forest won the regional with 55 points, while Eastern Kentucky finished second with 68 points to claim the regional's two automatic team bids.
A native of Signal Mountain, Tenn., Knight crossed the line in 30:10.0, knocking 21 seconds off his previous 10K PR. Graduate student Albert Velikonja placed 28th at 30:19.6, and graduate student Bryn Woodall was 39th with a time of 30:33.1. Sophomore Rives Boltwood turned in a time of 30:38.3 for 44th place, while senior Luke Taylor finished 54th with a time of 30:58.6 to complete the Paladin scorers. Senior Colton Kempney crossed the line in 31:01.8 for 60th place, and sophomore Matteo Tonnos was 81st at 31:27.1.
On the women's side, Furman scored 322 points to finish 12th. N.C. State repeated as region champion with 55 points, and South Carolina finished second with 100 points to claim the two automatic bids.
The SoCon Runner of the Year and the league's freshman of the year, Walter, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., posted a time of 20:13.5 in the 6K race. Sophomore Nysa Males placed 50th at 20:36.7, and freshman Elly Velasquez recorded a time of 21:12.8 for 77th place. Freshman Annie Miller placed 85th with a time of 21:19.5, followed closely by sophomore Rory Sullivan, who finished out the Furman scoring in 89th place at 21:22.9. Sophomore Zoie Lamanna was 93rd with a time of 21:27.9, and sophomore Jais Ward placed 98th at 21:32.2.
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Complete Furman Results
2025 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships
Women's 6K - 12th out of 36 teams - 322 Points
27th Tessa Walter 20:13.5
50th Nysa Males 20:36.7
77th Elly Velasquez 21:12.8
85th Annie Miller 21:19.5
89th Rory Sullivan 21:22.9
93rd Zoie Lamanna 21:27.9
98th Jais Ward 21:32.2
Men's 10K - 7th out of 33 teams - 185 Points
20th Chris Knight 30:10.0
28th Albert Velikonja 30:19.6
39th Bryn Woodall 30:33.1
44th Rives Boltwood 30:38.3
54th Luke Taylor 30:58.6
60th Colton Kempney 31:01.8
81st Matteo Tonnos 31:27.1
