Furman claims ninth straight SoCon cross country titles

LEXINGTON, Va. – Furman won its ninth straight men’s and women’s titles at the 2021 Southern Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by VMI at the Lexington Golf and Country Club on Saturday, with Cameron Ponder and Bethany Graham claiming the individual titles and being named the SoCon Men’s and Women’s Runners of the Year, respectively.
 
The women’s 5K race led off the day, and Furman had nine of the first 10 finishers, turning in a meet-record 18 points. Graham crossed the finish line first in 17:41.4 to top teammate and runner-up Emily Little (17:52.8) by more than 11 seconds.
 
ETSU’s Lindsey Stallworth, the 2020 champion, finished third, followed by the Paladins’ Abigail Robertson, Kaylie Armitage, Megan Marvin and Nicole Matysik to round out the All-Southern Conference first team. Furman’s Madelynne Cadeau, Jonna Strange and Meghan Ford, Samford’s Sinkenesh Parker, Western Carolina’s Kate Mattison, ETSU’s Genevieve Schwarz and UNC Greensboro’s Ariana Garcia completed the second team, in that order.
 
Armitage earned SoCon Women’s Freshman of the Year honors, as her fifth-place finish paced all first-year runners in the field.
 
Samford was the team runner-up with 83 points, followed closely by ETSU with 86.
 
The men’s 8K race followed, with 16^th-ranked Furman sweeping the top seven spots and matching the championship record of 15 team points, which the Paladins have now done three times since 2014. Ponder pulled away from teammate Dylan Schubert late to cross first in 24:40.0, 5.9 seconds ahead of Schubert.
 
Aaron Wier followed in third, with 2020 champion Daniel Bernal in fourth. Gabe Montague finished fifth, claiming SoCon Men’s Freshman of the Year honors, with Noah Dolhare and Carson Williams next to complete the sweep of the All-SoCon first team.
 
VMI saw Gavin Jenkins finish eighth to earn a second-team spot, followed by a trio of ETSU Bucs in Evan Guzman, Matt Scarr and Myles Stoots. Furman’s Nick Goldstein was 12^th, followed by Samford’s Ben Garner and Mercer’s Connor Kaufman.
 
ETSU was the team runner-up with 64 points, with Mercer claiming third with 122.
 
Furman’s Robert Gary was named the SoCon Coach of the Year on both the men’s and women’s sides for the ninth straight time.
 
Marvin and Schubert claimed the Pinnacle Awards as the student-athletes with the highest GPAs on the championship-winning squads.
 
Women’s Results
Team                           Points
1. Furman                     18*
2. Samford                   83
3. ETSU                       86
4. UNC Greensboro      90
5. Chattanooga             136
6. Wofford                    170
7. Western Carolina      176
8. VMI                          226
9. Mercer                      255
10. The Citadel             269
 
*Meet record
 
Men’s Results
Team                           Points
1. Furman                     15*
2. ETSU                       64
3. Mercer                      122
4. Samford                   128
5. UNC Greensboro      136
6. Western Carolina      156
7. VMI                          175
8. Chattanooga             200
9. Wofford                    241
10. The Citadel             267
 
* Matches meet record
 
2021 Southern Conference Women’s Cross Country
Runner of the Year
Bethany Graham, Furman
 
Freshman of the Year
Kaylie Armitage, Furman
 
Coach of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman
 
Pinnacle Award
Megan Marvin, Furman
 
All-SoCon First Team
Bethany Graham, Furman
Emily Little, Furman
Lindsey Stallworth, ETSU
Abigail Robertson, Furman
Kaylie Armitage, Furman
Megan Marvin, Furman
Nicole Matysik, Furman
 
All-SoCon Second Team
Madelynne Cadeau, Furman
Jonna Strange, Furman
Meghan Ford, Furman
Sinkenesh Parker, Samford
Kate Mattison, Western Carolina
Genevieve Schwarz, ETSU
Ariana Garcia, UNC Greensboro
 
All-Freshman Team
Kaylie Armitage, Furman
Meghan Ford, Furman
Sinkenesh Parker, Samford
Emma Russum, Chattanooga
Macie Pfeuffer, Samford
Mary Claire Ridgeway, Wofford
Carolyne Shealy, Wofford
 
2021 Southern Conference Men’s Cross Country
Runner of the Year
Cameron Ponder, Furman
 
Freshman of the Year
Gabe Montague, Furman
 
Coach of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman
 
Pinnacle Award
Dylan Schubert, Furman
 
All-SoCon First Team
Cameron Ponder, Furman
Dylan Schubert, Furman
Aaron Wier, Furman
Daniel Bernal, Furman
Gabe Montague, Furman
Noah Dolhare, Furman
Carson Williams, Furman
 
All-SoCon Second Team
Gavin Jenkins, VMI
Evan Guzman, ETSU
Matt Scarr, ETSU
Myles Stoots, ETSU
Nick Goldstein, Furman
Ben Garner, Samford
Connor Kaufman, Mercer
 
All-Freshman Team
Gabe Montague, Furman
Evan Guzman, ETSU
Nick Goldstein, Furman
Jackson Merrell, Samford
Justin Hayes, Western Carolina
William Hartig, ETSU
Aaron Isbell, Chattanooga