Freshman leads women’s cross country team to second place finish

The Women's cross country team came in second last Saturday at the 36th GSU Invitational while the men placed fourth. Competitors included Georgia, Kennesaw State, UNC Wilmington, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Clayton State, West Georgia, Troy and Morehouse.

The Georgia State women's team placed second with a score of 33, just 5 points behind Georgia. On the women's side, top runners for this event was junior Katherine Showalter, sophomore Anna Sinclair and freshmen Hannah Stefanoff and Sarah McCarthy.

Stefanoff led the way for the Panthers by winning the women's individual title by finishing with a time of 22:23 in the 6K race. Recently, she also earned CAA co-runner of the week and CAA runner of the week with sixth place finishes at the Auburn Invitational and the UGA Invitational. Head Coach Chris England was very surprised by her success. "She surprised me as well as everyone else," England told Athletics. "Last year, Georgia State also had a freshman win the GSU Invite individual title. Hannah filled that role today, beating a strong field of runners. I expect her to continue to get stronger and faster and push her teammates to follow behind her." In the 97-runner field, Showalter finished sixth with a time of 22:49, following McCarthy with a time of 23:12 for eighth place and Sinclair finishing ninth with a time of 21:17. On the men's side, sophomore Valentin Poncelet led the team with a time of 25:49, placing fifth overall. Poncelet also earned CAA co-Runner of the Week for his sixth place finish at the Auburn Invitational. Sophomore Tyler Tomy finished with a time of 26:57, placing him 19th overall following Senior Chris Harper, with a time of 27:06, placing him 22nd overall. England seemed pleased with how both teams performed. "I had high expectations coming into the meet," England told Athletics. "The teams met and exceeded those expectations. We put together a strong and competitive field for this invitational. I'm pleased with how both teams performed and ran with confidence." Georgia State's next meet is Friday, Sep. 30 at the Paul Short Run with Lehigh University hosting the event. The meet will take place in Bethlehem, Pa. at 10 a.m.