Ester Zar captured the individual title to lead the Batten University women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division III South Regional Preview, hosted by Shenandoah University at Panorama Farms.

Zar led the field from start to finish for the Marlins, completing the 6K course in 21:58.8 to take first overall. Her performance was the fastest 6K time by an ODAC runner this week and ranks third all-time in Batten women's cross country history.

Batten finished fifth out of 16 scoring teams with 133 points. The Marlins placed three runners inside the top 20 overall, with Madison Coutinho crossing the line 15th in 24:09.2 and Ella Moskowitz following in 18th with a time of 24:26.6.

Abby Peck was the fourth Marlin across the finish line, taking 36th overall with a time of 25:44.9. Samantha Lyman rounded out Batten's scoring five, finishing 72nd overall in 28:31.4.

The Marlins averaged 24:59 across their five scoring runners in the 6K race. Batten finished behind Saint Francis, Southern Virginia, Lynchburg and Catholic while placing ahead of 11 other teams in the 16-team field.