Cross Country Finishes Third in First Ever Sun Belt Championship Appearance

Friday, October 28

Foley, Ala.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

Sun Belt Conference Championship

Miranda Stanhope at ECAC Championships 101422

Cross Country Finishes Third in First Ever Sun Belt Championship Appearance

10/28/2022 5:59:00 PM | Cross Country

FOLEY, Ala. – Junior Miranda Stanhope placed sixth as James Madison finished third at the Sun Belt Championship on Friday afternoon at the Graham Creek Nature Preserve.

The Dukes collected 83 points in the 5K race, just 12 behind second-place Arkansas State, who won the previous three conference championship races. Southern Miss took home the team title with 44 points, while Molly Jones of Coastal Carolina was the first runner to cross the finish line with a time of 16:29.5.

How It Happened

Stanhope led all runners at the 2K split at 6:31 with sophomore Sofia Terenziani (6:38) following closely behind.
Freshman Gabriella Garcia rounded out the top 25 at the 2K mark with a time of 6:54.
At the 3K split, Stanhope found herself in fourth (9:44), while Terenziani was 11th (10:08), and Garcia 19th (10:18).
Stanhope was the first Duke to cross the finish line (6th – 17:05.9), a personal best and program record.
Garcia (13th – 17:42.6) and Terenziani (14th – 17:43.4) finished side by side, while senior Maddy Hesler (23rd – 18:17.2) and freshman Faithe Ketchum (27th – 18:25.8) rounded out the scoring for the Dukes.

Meet Notes

Stanhope's effort broke Heather Hanscom's 1999 5K time of 17:08.00.
Coming into the meet, JMU was picked to finish fourth in the conference's preseason poll.
JMU's placed three runners in the top 15, an improvement from last year's Colonial Athletic Championship race where it saw a trio of Dukes finish in the top 19.
Stanhope's performance marked her fourth top-10 effort of the season. Additionally, the junior has been the top finisher for James Madison in every meet she's competed in dating back to the Spring 2021 season.
Hesler made up ground in the final 3K, moving from 39th to 23rd down the home stretch.
Stanhope (Second Team), Garcia (Third Team), and Terenziani (Third Team) earned all-conference honors for their efforts.

Quoting Head Coach Rebekah Ricksecker
"Every single one of our student-athletes showed up today and left it all out on the course and I couldn't be more proud of them. We had five new PRs and a big congratulations to Miranda on another school record. Today was a great introduction into the Sun Belt, and we are even more motivated next year. Go Dukes!"

JMU Runners
6. Miranda Stanhope – 17:05.9
13. Gabriella Garcia – 17:42.6
14. Sofia Terenziani – 17:43.4
23. Maddy Hesler – 18:17.2
27. Faithe Ketchum – 18:25.8
35. Clare Morelli – 18:33.6
44. Laura Webb – 18:54.7

First Team All-Conference
Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina
Sophie Daigle, Louisiana
Oliwia Wawrzyniak, Southern Miss
Abby Herring, Marshall
Isabela Ross, Southern Miss

Second Team All-Conference
Miranda Stanhope, James Madison
Jaybe Shufelberger, Arkansas State
Sophie Leathers, Arkansas State
Erin Phelps, Southern Miss
Adele Magaud, South Alabama

Third Team All-Conference
Smilla Kolbe, Southern Miss
Kylee Mastin, Marshall
Gabriella Garcia, James Madison
Sofia Terenziani, James Madison
Linnea Maynard, App State

Up Next
The team will prepare for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship slated for Friday, Nov. 11 in Louisville, Ky. The women's 6K is set to begin at 11 a.m. at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, hosted by the University of Louisville.