Wednesday, October 07, 2009

MACON, Ga. - USC Upstate’s sophomore Carolyne Chelulei claimed Atlantic Sun women’s Runner of the Week honors with a third-place finish at the Charlotte Invitational.

Chelulei, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, finished in third and led the USC Upstate women's cross country team finished third out of 23 teams. Chelulei's time of 17:31.40 established a personal record and also set a school record. The nursing major surpassed the mark held by teammate Emily Tangwar, who had owned the previous school record at 18:08.00.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers Brittany Thune, Belmont (Sr. - Sioux Falls, S.D. - Business) -- Placed ninth in a field of 291 at the Greater Louisville Classic 5K. Her time of 17:39.52 was fractions of a second away from a personal record set at the A-Sun Championships last season to earn the individual title. Her time was the second-fastest 5K time in the A-Sun this season. She led Belmont to a 14th place finish out of 35 schools, edging A-Sun members Lipscomb (21st) and ETSU (35th).

Elsabeth Goshu, Jacksonville (Sr. - Sioux Falls, S.D. - Art) -- Goshu finished first at the FLRunner.com Invitational on Friday by running the third-fastest time in school history with a time of 18:01.49. The first-place finish for Goshu was also her second of the season. Along with Goshu, the Dolphins took the top five spots to win their sixth meet in the last two seasons.

Rachel Deline, Campbell (So. - Belleville, Ontario, Canada - Undeclared) -- Deline, who topped the Camel women for the fourth consecutive race this season, placed 16th with a personal-best time of 18:42 in the 5K race to lift the Camels’ to a seventh-place finish.