On Friday, App State Women’s Cross Country won their first title since 2018 and third title overall in program history. The Mountaineers winning the championship was simply the cherry on top of an already dominant season. 

Before the Sun Belt Championship, the Women’s Cross Country team placed second at three separate meets including Notre Dame’s Joe Piane Invitational on Oct. 4, where they scored 106 points and finished above 21 other teams. The Black and Gold were also coming off of a first-place victory at the Adidas Winthrop Invitational on Oct. 18.

The Mountaineers went into Friday with high expectations and did not disappoint, placing first in the 5k race with an average time of 17:49 which allowed them to bring home the trophy by a fairly wide margin, with second place being on average 35 seconds behind.

The sweeping performance on the first of the month was headlined by senior runner Jasmine Donohue who led the team and placed third overall with a 5K time of 17:18.9. Donohue was also placed on the 2024 Women’s First Team All-Conference team. 

She wasn’t the only runner to get a postseason accolade, as senior runners Lauren Johnston and Emma Russum both placed on the Second Team All-Conference after finishing sixth and seventh, a mere two seconds apart. 

Rounding out the awards, senior runner Lana Farris was given a spot on the Women’s Third Team All-Conference team as she crossed the finish line thirteenth, just a second and a half behind the runner ahead. While placing just outside the top 15 and therefore ineligible for an all-conference team, true freshman Breanna Budzinski had an incredible performance, placing sixteenth overall and first among freshmen.

The postseason is not over for this team, as the NCAA Southeast Regionals kick off on Nov. 15.