Women's Cross Country | September 11, 2024
AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA women's cross country team is set for the upcoming Queens City Invite, which takes place Friday evening.
The 17-team field consists of Benedict, Bob Jones, Davidson, Emory, Fayetteville State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Louisburg, Mount Olive, North Carolina Wesleyan, Queens, SCAD, Southwest Virginia C.C., USC Sumter, USC Beaufort, Valdosta State and Wingate.
Head coach
Marshall Leonard's team is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Elon Night Invitational where rookie
Gabrielle Jourdain's outstanding race led her to be named the PBC Runner of the Week.
"The team had a great start to the season last week, and they have the opportunity to keep that momentum moving forward," Leonard stated. "As good as they ran, there is a lot of room for improvement, and we have spoken about those areas. Our goal is to close the gap from our first and fifth runner. Last week it was 86 seconds and we want it to be under 60 seconds this week. There will be a lot of talented runners in Charlotte and they will get a chance to run with fast runners, which will help them run a great time."
Jourdain (15:28.7),
Alaynah Guthrie (15:44.5),
Sydney Fallin (15:44.7),
Bailey Kirkland (16:29.6) and
Jenna Couch (16:49.2) were the top runners for USCA a week ago at the 4k event.
The Queens City Invite marks the program's second consecutive evening race. Following the event, the Pacers will have a week off to prepare for the Akiah McMillan Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 28.
