Written and media by Jaylen Shelton.
Greenville had a real great group of seniors this year to lead them in cross country. A total of six seniors were runners, two of which were men and four that were women. These seniors had a great four years of contributing to the cross country team. They had a grand total of 17 All-Conferences, eight First Team All-Conference (finishing 1-8) and eight Second Team All-Conferences (8-14). The seniors also got 15 All-Academic All-Conference Awards, which means they had a 3.4 grade point average or above. The team accepted these accomplishments while winning four conference championships, two of which were for the men and two which were for the women as well. Overall, this class of seniors had success through their four years of being on Greenville University’s Cross Country Team. Sophomore Dylon Niswonger said, ” I can’t imagine a team without the seniors.” These seniors made a great impact on the team for four years and will be missed next year.
Men’s Cross Country
The men’s team had two total seniors this year. The Panther Men were led by Nathan Potts and Jaylen Shelton. Potts has won a total of three All-Conference Awards, three All-Academic Awards, and was voted by his teammates as the Most Inspirational Person on the team. This means that he inspired his teammates throughout the season to do their best and work hard. Potts also won the Orange and Black Award this year, which means he contributed the most to the team, both on and off the course. Potts’ fastest time in an 8000m race is 25:26, which he ran in his last cross country race of his college career at the Midwest Regional meet. Shelton, like Potts, won three total All-Conferences Awards and he was voted by the team as the Most Consistent Runner for them. This award meant that Shelton always had a decent race and would never let you down throughout the year. Shelton’s fastest time was 25:22, which he ran at the regional meet this year as well. Potts and Shelton have contributed to the team ever since they become runners for Greenville. Since they have been at Greenville, there has not been a race where either one of them has been in the top seven finishers for Greenville. Since their sophomore year, the two have been consistently ranked in Greenville’s top five.
Women’s Cross Country
The Lady Panthers had a total of four seniors. The seniors were Jordie File, Brooke Goodyear, Megan Mckee, and Lia Kruse. These four ladies had a total of 11 All-Conference Awards. They also had won a combined total of 12 All-Academic Awards. Lia Kruse is one of the fastest runners at GU. She ran a time of 22:35, which is the eighth fastest time in Greenville history. She was voted by her teammates as the Most Valuable Runner on the team, which means she was the most important on the team. She also won the Orange and Black Award as well. Brooke Goodyear has been one of Greenville’s top runners ever since she stepped on campus. Her fastest time is 23:38, which she ran her junior year, and she won MVP her sophomore year. Jordie’s fastest time is 24:16, which she ran her freshman year. From her sophomore year until now she has been dealing with a hip injury, although this year she won the Vision Award because she could run much better than what she ran last year. She has another year of eligibility which she plans on using next year. Megan Mckee has been a consistent runner for GU the four years that she has been here. Her fastest time at Greenville is 24:00. She ran that at the conference meet this year. She won the Most Consistent Award this year in cross country.
As the cross country season ended, so has the some of the seniors’ college career with running. However, Track & Field is still in season, and even though many of the college runner’s career is ending, the six seniors of GU still have one more season to make an impact!
