Furman Men and Women Win 12th Straight Cross Country Championships

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 23^rd-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 16^th 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