Gamecocks Place 15th at NCAA Championship
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Nov. 22, 2025) – The historical 2025 Gamecock Cross Country season came to an end on Saturday morning at the NCAA Cross Country Championship in Columbia, Mo.
South Carolina, competing at the NCAA Championships for the first time as a team in program history, walked away with a 15th place finish. The Gamecocks finished in the top half of a loaded 32-team field, scoring 456 points.
Salma Elbadra ran the 6K event in 19:14.7, finishing 28th overall on the individual leaderboard to earn All-American nods. Elbadra hung with the lead pack until the final 1K but was able to secure a Top 40 finish to become South Carolina’s second Cross Country All-American in program history. Elbadra joins former Gamecock, Judy Kosgei, on the All-American list as Kosgei ran at the NCAA Championship in 2023 as an individual and finished 19th overall.
Teresa Cherotich, Abigail White, Abir Reffas and Anya Arroyo rounded out the top five scorers for the Garnet & Black on Saturday morning. Cherotich crossed the line in 19:59.8 to place 109th, while White ran a personal best time of 20:07.1 to improve on her seventh fastest time in program history, placing 130th in the field. Reffas followed closely behind White, running 20:09.3 to finish 137th, while Arroyo clocked 20:21.2 for 163rd.
Cate Conklin and Jade Buridon ran personal best times to close out the season. Conklin crossed the finish line in 20:23.3 to improve on her eighth fastest time in school history, while Buridon ran 20:37.3 to jump into ninth all-time in the Gamecock record books.
N.C. State entered the meet as the top ranked team in the standings and was able to deliver with the team title, collecting 114 points. The Wolfpack were followed by BYU in second place with 130 points and Oregon rounding out the top three with 153 points.
Team Results
1. N.C. State – 114 points
2. BYU – 130 points
3. Oregon – 153 points
—
15. South Carolina – 457 points
Individual Gamecock Results
28. Salma Elbadra – 19:14.7
109. Teresa Cherotich – 19:59.8
130. Abigail White – 20:07.1*
137. Abir Reffas – 20:09.3
163. Anya Arroyo – 20:21.2
169. Cate Conklin – 20:23.3*
203. Jade Buridon – 20:37.3*
* – denotes 6K personal best
