Women's Cross Country | October 24, 2024

Small town, soft spoken, but a big impact. That's what Pacer Nation could say about rookie cross country standout Gabrielle Jourdain.

A native of Sandy Run, S.C., Jourdain made her way to USCA from Calhoun Academy. There, she led her team to the SCISA II Class A state title as a senior while finishing with the bronze medal individually. As a junior, Jourdain won the SCISA II Class A cross country championship and helped her program pick up two region cross country titles during her career.

After notching a personal-best 5k time of 20:03 in high school, Jourdain has continued to be successful at USCA.

During her first meet, she helped the Pacers snag a fourth-place finish at the Elon Opener with her 25^th-place finish in a field that consisted of Division I and Division II teams. Her time established a school record for a 4k (15:28).

At the ensuing Queens City Invite, she garnered a 5k time of 19:34.48 for 26^th place. That put her in a tie for second place on the school's 5k record book. However, Jourdain was not finished. At the Sand Shark Invitational, she helped her team to a fifth-place effort by taking 16^th in another personal-best time of 19:26.0, which marked the second-fastest time in school history for a 5k. 

Through three races, Jourdain has been the team's top runner, has established a pair of personal-best marks and has picked up a pair of PBC Runner of the Week accolades, marking just the fourth and fifth time in school history a Pacer has picked up the honor on the women's side (Sept. 9 and Oct. 14). Additionally, she and teammate Tess Studley have each garnered the award twice. 

Heading into the postseason, Jourdain will continue to help the Pacers make a big impact.

Watch the video for the full interview with Jourdain.