Furman Men and Women Win 12th Straight Cross Country Championships
Furman women win fourth straight individual title, men win ninth-straight individual title
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman won their 12th straight men’s and women’s titles at the 2024 Southern Conference Cross Country Championships., Furman’s Dylan Schubert won the men’s race, breaking an 11-year course record, while the Paladins’ Carly Wilkes captured the women’s individual title, shattering the former course record.
The men’s 8K race led off the day at 10 a.m. Schubert, a fifth-year senior from Loveland, Colorado, finished in 23:40.1. Schubert won his third-straight individual title.
Schubert, the SoCon Runner of the Year, was the first of seven Furman runners to finish in the top 10, as the 23rd-ranked Paladins scored a perfect 15 points.
Luke Taylor, a junior math and economics major from Rockville, Virginia, and the eighth-place finisher, was named the Knight Commission Pinnacle Award winner. The Pinnacle Award recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the men’s and women’s winning teams. Furman coach Robert Gary was named the SoCon Coach of the Year.
Carson Williams of Furman was second with a time of 24:07.7. Furman’s Christopher Knight came in third with a time of 24:20.9, followed by teammate Evan Guzman at 24:21.0. Furman’s Colin Eckerman and Nicholas Goldstein, Chattanooga’s Jackson Martin, Western Carolina’s Drew Zink, and VMI’s Kevin Shank, finished out the All-SoCon team, completing the race in that order.
Western Carolina, the runner-up in the men’s race, finished with 94 points. UNCG finished third with 108 points.
The women’s 5K race followed at 10:45 a.m. Wilkes finished in first with a time of 16:09.7. Wilkes is Furman’s fourth straight individual women’s champion, and was named the SoCon Runner of the Year. Furman coach Rita Gary was tabbed the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading the Paladins to their 12th straight title. The dozen consecutive championships is the longest active winning streak in Division I.
Furman junior Kaylie Armitage placed second, finishing in 16:15.3. Furman’s Jenna Mulhern placed third with a time of 16:22.7. The top three were followed by Chattanooga’s Lesley Boyd, Furman’s Sierra Bower, and Samford’s Adeline Haisch and Sinkenesh Parker, respectively, to round out the All-SoCon first team.
The women’s top four finishers recorded the four fastest times in course history, with Wilkes setting the official new course record.
The Samford Bulldogs finished second with 50 team points, while Chattanooga was third with 81 points.
Samford’s Felicity Hamilton finished 16th overall in 17:45.7, earning SoCon Freshman of the Year honors as the first true freshman finisher.
Mulhern, a communications major from West Chester, Pennsylvania, earned the women’s Knight Commission Pinnacle Award.
2024 SoCon Cross Country Championships
Men’s Results
Team Points
1. Furman 15
2. Western Carolina 94
3. UNCG 108
4. Samford 116
5. Chattanooga 118
6. Mercer 125
7. VMI 143
8. ETSU 231
9. Wofford 284
10. Citadel 290
Women’s Results
Team Points
1. Furman 19
2. Samford 50
3. Chattanooga 81
4. ETSU 130
5. Mercer 97
6. Western Carolina 202
7. UNCG 202
8. VMI 231
9. Wofford 243
10. The Citadel 289
2024 Southern Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year
Dylan Schubert, Furman
Carson Williams, Furman
Christopher Knight, Furman
Evan Guzman, Furman
Colin Eckerman, Furman
Nicholas Goldstein, Furman
Jackson Martin, Chattanooga
All-SoCon Second Team
Luke Taylor, Furman
Drew Zink, Western Carolina
Kevin Shank, VMI
Chase Thurber, Western Carolina
Colin Keck, UNCG
Jacob Peters, Mercer
Foster Wilfong, Furman
All-Freshman Team
Christopher Knight, Furman
Colin Eckerman, Furman
Derek Mitchell, Chattanooga
Logan Ruffner, UNCG
Arthur Langley, Samford
Stephen Jones, Samford
Ian Etheridge, Chattanooga
2024 Southern Conference Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year
Carly Wilkes, Furman
Freshman of the Year
Felicity Hamilton, Samford
Coach of the Year
Rita Gary, Furman
Pinnacle Award
Jenna Mulhern, Furman
All-SoCon First Team
Carly Wilkes, Furman
Kaylie Armitage, Furman
Jenna Mulhern, Furman
Lesley Boyd, Chattanooga
Sierra Bower, Furman
Adeline Haisch, Samford
Sikenesh Parker, Samford
All-SoCon Second Team
Megan Marvin, Furman
Maddie Wheatcroft, Chattanooga
Edie Smith, Samford
Nicole Matysik, Furman
Katie Keller, Samford
Emma Jones, Furman
Madelynne Cadeau, Furman
All-Freshman Team
Felicity Hamilton, Samford
Deena Ludtke, ETSU
Paula Sandoval, Mercer
Reagan Cooke, Mercer
Ellie von Herrmann, Chattanooga
Reagan Gilman, VMI
Claire Bauer, Mercer