Cross Country Makes History with USTFCCCA National Ranking

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Oct. 7, 2025) – For the first time in program history, South Carolina Cross Country finds itself inside the USTFCCCA Top 30 rankings, as announced by the committee on Tuesday afternoon. The Gamecocks are slated No. 26 in the latest poll after receiving votes in the first two editions.

The Gamecocks have continued to climb the regional rankings, opening the 2025 campaign ranked fifth in the Southeast Regional standings for the highest ranking in school history. Since that mark, the Garnet & Black have climbed up to a new heights as South Carolina is now positioned third in the Southeast Region, ahead of both Clemson (No. 4) and Wake Forest (No. 5).

South Carolina has seen strong performances in each of the three meets thus far, beginning with a season-opening win at the Covered Bridge Open led by Teresa Cherotich’s individual title after running 16:52.8.

The Gamecocks then finished third overall at the Adidas XC Challenge, led once again by Cherotich who clocked a then-personal best 5K time of 16:35.9. Most recently, the Garnet & Black finished runner-up at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational for the third podium finish of the season. Salma Elbadra made her cross country debut at Notre Dame, running just the second sub-16-minute 5K in program history after crossing the line in 15:57.5 to finish third individually. Earlier this afternoon, Elbadra was named SEC Women’s Runner of the Week for her efforts in South Bend, Ind.

This year’s cross country squad has accounted for 10 of the Top 20 5K program times, including five of the six fastest times in program history at Notre Dame.

South Carolina will close out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 17 at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala.