GREENVILLE, SC – Furman senior Chris Knight and sophomore Tessa Walter have been chosen the SoCon Cross Country Runners of the Week for races held between September 23-39.

A native of Signal Mountain, Tenn., Knight finished third with a time of 22:48.04 at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invite in Chicago on Friday, besting his previous 8K PR of 23:42.9 by almost a minute.  Furman finished fourth as a team, beating out No. 24 Ole Miss, 11th-ranked Wisconsin, and No. 13 Washington.

Walter, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., turned in a time of 19:42.67 to finish tenth at the same meet, knocking over 30 seconds off her previous 6K personal best, which she set at last season's region championship.  She led the Paladins to a seventh-place finish in a loaded field, which included 20th-ranked Virginia, 24th-ranked Minnesota, and 12th-ranked Northwestern.  Furman beat out Power 4 foes Michigan, Arizona, and Wisconsin in Chicago.

The Paladins will race next on Oct. 9 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in Madison, Wis., and at the Royals Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.

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2026-27 SoCon Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Sep 9 – Mackenzie Armstrong, So., ETSU (Wheaton, Ill.)
Sep 16 – Tessa Walter, So., Furman (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Sep 23 – Nikki Harris, Gr., Mercer (Ocala, Fla.)
Sep 30 – Tessa Walter, So., Furman (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

2026-27 SoCon Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Sep 9 – Will Poelker, So., Mercer (St. Louis, Mo.)
Sep 16 – Chris Knight, Sr., Furman (Signal Mountain, Tenn.)
Sep 23 – Garrett Hawkins, So., ETSU (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Sep 30 – Chris Knight, Sr., Furman (Signal Mountain, Tenn.)