SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU’s Ben Varghese and Wofford’s Hannah Steelman have been named Southern Conference men’s and women’s runners of the week, respectively, for competition that took place Sept. 15-17, the league office announced Wednesday.

Varghese, making his collegiate debut, finished fifth out of a field of 147 runners at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational. The Kingsport, Tennessee, native helped the Bucs earn a third place finish in the 8k race as host Virginia Tech took first and Florida State finished second. Varghese was the only freshman to finish among the top 24 runners, crossing the finish line with a time of 25:05.3.

Steelman, a freshman from Orono, Maine, was the individual winner at the Winthrop/Adidas Cross Country Invitational as the Wofford women’s team placed first. Steelman earned first in the 5k race with a time of 17:46.53, the second-fastest mark in school history. The fastest time in program history is currently 17:37.5, a time Steelman recorded in her first collegiate race. The Terriers won the event by a large margin, scoring 20 points with the second place finisher tallying 75. The award is the first weekly award for Wofford since 2009.

Also nominated for men’s runner of the week: Will Sandin (UNCG) and Jahanzib Shabaz (VMI).

Also nominated for women’s runner of the week: Lindsey Stallworth (ETSU), Abbey Zane (Samford) and Bethany King (VMI).

SoCon Men’s Runner of the Week
Sept. 6: Aaron Templeton, Jr., Furman
Sept. 13: Tanner Hinkle, Sr., Furman
Sept. 20: Ben Varghese, Fr., ETSU

SoCon Women’s Runner of the Week
Sept. 6: Allie Buchalski, Sr., Furman
Sept. 13: Allie Buchalski, Sr., Furman
Sept. 20: Hannah Steelman, Fr., Wofford