COLUMBIA, S.C. (Sept. 8, 2026) – South Carolina’s Ella Nighbor has been named SEC Cross Country Women’s Freshman of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon. Nighbor becomes the first Gamecock to earn Freshman of the Week honors since Teresa Cherotich on Sept. 17, 2024.
The Clover, S.C. native made her collegiate debut over the weekend at the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, S.C. and aided the Gamecocks to a first-place finish to begin the campaign. Nighbor placed eighth individually on the leaderboard with a 5K mark of 17:54.5 for the 31st fastest time in program history. Nighbor’s time was the final scoring mark for South Carolina as the Gamecocks accounted for 26 points, finishing 26 points clear of in-state rival Clemson.
Nighbor and the Gamecocks are back in action on Friday, Sept. 18 at the Adidas XC Challenge in Raleigh, N.C. South Carolina placed third overall in last year’s Adidas XC Challenge.
Sign up for our Sunday Spectator. Delivered to your inbox every Sunday, with all the news from the week.
Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
