NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Huntingdon women's cross country program was recognized this week by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as an All-Academic team. The Hawks had a cumulative GPA of 3.22 through the fall semester.

"This is a great recognition for our program and the school," Huntingdon cross country coach Nate Rucker said. "I'm proud of them for this accomplishment. It shows how hard these girls work to prepare for competition and for class.

"This is the second year our girls have been recognized. That's a streak we hope to keep building on for years to come."

Huntingdon was one of 187 women's cross country teams to earn All-Academic status. To be eligible, a team must maintain a 3.10 cumulative GPA.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Saturday wasn’t the result the Huntingdon women’s cross country team wanted.

The Hawks placed five runners in the Top 16 but missed out on a third straight Great South Athletic Conference title. Piedmont won the GSAC championship with a score of 29. Huntingdon was second with 44 points.

“Our goal was to win and it’s disappointing to finish second,” Huntingdon coach Nate Rucker said. “But I’m not disappointed in the effort our girls gave. The girls ran hard and gave it everything they had. We battled the whole race. It just wasn’t our day.”

Three-time defending GSAC Runner of the Year Caitlin McMahon led Huntingdon with a time of 26:55.06 and an eighth-place finish in the 6k race.

“Caitlin has been battling an injury, but she gave us everything she had and she did everything she could do today,” Rucker said. “I don’t think words can really describe what Caitlin has meant to this program and what she has done in four years. She came in as a freshman and took control of the conference. She was the first person in conference history to win three straight individual titles. Today wasn’t her day, but she has a lot to be proud of and a lot of accomplishments to look back on.”

Sheaney Marshall was 10th with a time of 27:25.04, Jackie Daniels was 14th (28:18.11), Rachael Phillips was 15th (28:25.02), Brianna McClure was 16th (28:30.79), Whitney Denney was 22nd (30:01.57), Hannah Still was 24th (30:22.08), Jodie Thomas was 34th (31:26.07), Chala Monk was 53rd (34:11.65) and Carly Williamson was 58th (36:16.92).
“I’m proud of all of these girls,” Rucker said. “It’s going to be tough to lose these seniors. When we started the team, Jackie Daniels was the first person to commit to run for us. This class has been a special part of this program and they helped build it from the ground up. I couldn’t have asked for a better group.”

TROY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men’s and women’s cross country teams each placed fourth on Saturday in the 12th annual Coach “O” Invitational.

Georgia State swept both races and Troy University was second in each. On the men’s side, Georgia State finished with a score of 20, followed by Troy at 56, Morehouse State at 70 and the Hawks at 103.

The Huntingdon women finished with a score of 107. First-place Georgia State had a score of 15, followed by second-place Troy at 57 and third-place Albany State at 78.

Georgia State’s Valentin Poncelet won the men’s 8k race with a time of 25:58.55. Alex Taylor and Jeff Jenkins led the Hawks as four Huntingdon runners finished in the top 30 and all six placed in the top 40.

Taylor was 16th with a time of 29:51.87 and Jenkins was 17th with a time of 29:52.11. Patrick Cross was 23rd at 30:54.44, McDowell Pinckard was 27th at 32:21.53, Drayton Rodgers was 39th at 35:20.65 and Alex Dunkel was 40th at 35:50.23.

Senior Caitlin McMahon led the Huntingdon women with a 14th-place finish and a time of 21:35.20. Georgia State runners swept the top six places and placed nine runners in the top 13. Hannah Stefanoff won the 5k meet with a time of 18:49.91

Behind McMahon, Huntingdon’s Rachael Phillips was 22nd at 23:37.40, Jackie Daniels was 27th at 25:10.56, Brianna McClure was 30th at 25:32.09, Whitney Denney was 31st at 25:39.63, Hannah Still was 32nd at 26:02.56, Jodie Thomas was 36th at 28:31.25 and Carly Williamson was 42nd at 33:39.19.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Huntingdon men’s and women’s cross country teams returned to competition on Saturday in the Rhodes College Cross Country Invitational.

The Huntingdon men placed ninth with a score of 258 and the women were 10th with a score of 280.

Memphis swept the men's and women's titles. The men won with 33 points and the women won with 34 points.

Memphis’ James Maglasang won the men’s race with a time of 25:05. Rhodes’ Maddie Harrigan won the women’s meet with a time of 22:13.

Caitlin McMahon finished in 28th place with a time of 24:21 to lead the Huntingdon women. Sheaney Marshall turned in a time of 26:46 for the Hawks, followed by and Rachel Phillips at 27:33, Whitney Denney at 28:50, Jackie Daniels at 29:01, Brianna McClure at 29:27, Hannah Still at 29:48, Jodie Thomas at 32:10, Chala Monk at 32:22 and Carly Williamson at 36:25.

Jeff Jenkins led the Huntingdon men, placing 41st with a time of 28:15. Alex Taylor had the Hawks’ second best time at 29:13. Patrick Cross was next with a time of 29:59, followed by McDowell Pinckard at 30:52, Ian Layne was at 30:57, Drayton Rodgers and Alex Dunkel at 34:23.

“It was a good meet for us and we were happy with the way we ran,” Huntingdon coach Nate Rucker said. “There was a lot of good competition and this will help us get ready for the next portion of the season. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but we’re looking forward to our next meet.”

The Hawks travel to the Jacksonville State University Foothills Invitational on Oct. 8.