SPARTANBURG, SC – Mercer junior Mary Grace Parker and UNC Greensboro senior Khalid Abdullahi were named SoCon Cross Country Athletes of the Week for races held between October 14-20.
 
Parker (Wilsonville, AL) finished fourth overall at the 2026 Upstate Invitational in Spartanburg, SC, running a time of 17.18.5 over the 5K Milliken Research Center course. Parker’s finish helped Mercer to a second-place team finish behind Duke and just ahead of SoCon foe ETSU. She was the only runner not on the Blue Devils’ roster to finish inside the top seven individually. She ran an average mile time of 5:34.2 on Friday.
 
Abdullahi (Raleigh, NC) averaged a time of 4.50.7 per mile to finish seventh in the men’s 8K race at the 2026 Upstate Invitational, finishing with a time of 24.05.1. The time was the fastest of Abudllah’s career over an 8K course, bettering his previous time by nearly one minute. His effort helped the Spartans finish fifth in the team standings. It was the second consecutive top-5 finish as a team for UNCG this fall.
 
Both teams will turn their attention to the 2026 Tryon International SoCon Cross Country Championships, presented by Ingles, on October 31 in Mill Spring, NC.
 
Also Nominated (Women): Deena Ludkte (ETSU), Lakin Hailey (Tennessee Tech)
 
Also Nominated (Men): Hayden Waleski (ETSU), Colin Eckerman (Furman)
 
2026-27 SoCon Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Sep 9 – Mackenzie Armstrong, So., ETSU (Wheaton, IL)
Sep 16 – Tessa Walter, So., Furman (Colorado Springs, CO)
Sep 23 – Nikki Harris, Gr., Mercer (Ocala, FL)
Sep 30 – Tessa Walter, So. Furman (Colorado Springs, CO)
Oct 7 – Lakin Hailey, Fr., Tennessee Tech (Rockvale, TN)
Oct 14 – Tessa Walter, So., Furman (Colorado Springs, CO)
Oct 21 – Mary Grace Parker, Jr., Mercer (Wilsonville, AL)
 
2026-27 SoCon Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Sep 9 – Will Poelker, So., Mercer (St. Louis, MO)
Sep 16 – Chris Knight, Sr., Furman (Signal Mountain, TN)
Sep 23 – Garrett Hawkins, So., ETSU (Knoxville, TN)
Sep 30 – Chris Knight, Sr., Furman (Signal Mountain, TN)
Oct 7 – Jack Martin, Sr., Chattanooga (Charlotte, TN)
Oct 14 – Chris Knight, Sr., Furman (Signal Mountain, TN)
Oct 21 – Khalid Abdullahi, Sr., UNC Greensboro (Raleigh, NC)