Cross Country and Track Welcome 18 for the 2023-24 Season

8/25/2023 3:52:00 PM | Men's Track/Cross Country, Women's Track/Cross Country

GW cross country and track & field head coach Terry Weir announced the addition of 18 newcomers for the 2023-24 school year. 17 of the newcomers are first-year students, while one is a graduate transfer. The group consists of eight runners on the men's side and 10 runners on the women's team.

"Coach Sam (Nadel) has done a phenomenal job assembling this class and I'm extremely excited to get started with this group," Weir said. "The women have added much needed depth in cross country and in our sprints program. For the men, we continued to add more depth in our mid-distance and distance groups that I feel really complements our class from last year, who are entering their sophomore seasons. We're also very excited to add Rachel Horowitz as a graduate transfer. She's a proven winner and an A-10 champion in the 400m. She brings a ton of experience and leadership to our group."

The men's and women's cross country season gets underway on Friday, Sept. 1, when the Buff & Blue compete in the Mount St. Mary's 5K Duals. The event is hosted in Emmitsburg, MD, and has a scheduled start time of 11 a.m.

Rachel Horowitz
Austin, TX / Liberal Arts Science Academy / Davidson
Track & Field / Sprints / 5'11"

Prior to GW (Davidson):
Earned the Davidson Track & Field MVP award following the 2023 season…Named the Davidson Track & Field Coaches' Award winner following the 2019-20 academic year…Became the first Davidson women's champion in the 400m at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championships…Earned gold medalist honors in the 4x400m relay at the 2023 A-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships…Tallied a silver medal in the 400m at the 2023 A-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships…Collected a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay at the 2023 A-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships…Silver medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2022 and 2023 A-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships…Bronze Medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2021 A-10 Track & Field Championships…Named to the A-10 Indoor All-Rookie Team in 2020…Holds five Davidson Women's Track & Field Records including the 200m outdoor (24.42) and the 400m outdoor (54.05).

Kayla DeSousa
Huntington, NY / Saint Anthony's High School
Track & Field / Sprints / 5'7"

High School Accolades:
Earned gold medalist honors in the 4x400m relay at the Millrose Games…Tallied a gold medal in the 4x200m relay at the 2023 CHSAA Indoor Intersectional Championships…Two-time silver medal winner in the 400m and the 4x400m relay at the 2022 CHSAA Outdoor Intersectional Championships…League Champion in the 400m and 4x400m relay in 2022 and 2023…Named All-State and All-League in New York during the 2022-23 season…Named the Saint Anthony's track & field team captain during the 2022 indoor and 2023 outdoor seasons.

Lola Dinneen
Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy
Track & Field/Cross Country / Mid-Distance/Distance / 5'6"

High School Accolades:
Earned a Cross Country NY City Championship in 2022…Indoor NY City Champion in 2023…Tallied a Staten Island Championship in the 1500m and the 3000m in 2023.

Emma Friedrich
Maplewood, NJ / Columbia High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 5'5"

High School Accolades:
Holds the Columbia High School record in the 5K with a time of 18:39…Finished in first place in the 1600m at the 2022 and 2023 Essex County meet…Tallied a first-place finish in the 5K at the 2022 and 2023 Essex County meet…Finished sixth place in the 5K at the 2023 NJSIAA Outdoor Sectional Championships…Member of the Garden State Track Club.

Shannon Hieber
West Babylon, NY / West Babylon High School
Track & Field/Cross County / Mid-Distance/Distance / 5'8"

High School Accolades:
Earned all-county, all-division and all-league honors in cross country…Named an academic all-county honoree in cross country…Holds the 2000m steeple chase record at West Babylon High School…Earned a sixth-place finish in the 2K steeple chase at the 2023 Section XI County meet…Finished 10^th place in the 800m at the 2023 Section XI State Qualifier meet…Bronze medalist in the 800m at the 2023 Section XI Outdoor Division Championship.

Kamryn Holness
Atco, NJ / Winslow Township High School
Track & Field / Sprints / 5'5"

High School Accolades:
Four-time High School All-American…Third-ranked athlete in New Jersey in the 55m hurdles…Personal record time of 24.5 in the 200m…Personal record time of 48.6 in the 400m…Tallied a New Jersey State Championship with Winslow Township.

Natalie Quinn
Oak Park, IL / Oak Park High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 5'8"

High School Accolades:
Two-time All-Conference award winner…Two-time All-Sectional honoree…Finished in 14^th-place at the 2023 IHSA State Championships in the 1600m with a time of 5:06.

Janae Russell
Alpharetta, GA / Alpharetta High School
Track & Field / Sprints / 5'4"

High School Accolades:
Member of the 4x200m relay team that holds the Alpharetta school record…Personal record split time of 23.9 in the 4x200m…Recipient of the Alpharetta High School Captain Award…Recipient of the Most Improved Athlete Award for Alpharetta track & field.

Julia Shanes
Rumson, NJ / Rumson-Fair Haven High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 5'6"

High School Accolades:
Member of the Rumson-Fair Haven cross country team that finished ninth in the group championship at the 2023 NJSIAA Championship Meet…Tallied a sixth-place finish in the 1600m at the 2023 NJSIAA Outdoor Meet of Champions with a time of 5:01…Finished in eighth place in the 1600m at the 2023 NJSIAA Outdoor Meet of Champions…Holds the Rumson-Fair Haven school record in the 1000m with a time of 3:03.52… Holds the Rumson-Fair Haven school record in the 3200m with a time of 10:56.86.

Erin Wallwork
Byfield, MA / Triton Regional High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 5'8"

High School Accolades:
Gold medalist in the 1K at the 2023 CAL Indoor Championship…Finished sixth in the two-mile at the MAD5 Indoor State Championship…Member of the 4x800m relay team that claimed the gold medal at the 2023 MAD5 Outdoor State Championship…2023 Triston Regional High School Athlete of the Year…12-time varsity letter recipient…Triton Regional High School Scholar-Athlete.

Brayden Bayek
Ricky Hills, CT / Ricky Hills High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 5'10"

High School Accolades:
Earned a Connecticut Class M State Championship with Ricky Hills High School…Tallied First-Team All-New England honors for cross country…Two-time All-State honoree for cross country...Tallied a combined six All-Conference awards across cross country and track & field…Third-Team All-Northeast in cross country.

Cory Chambers
Milton, GA / Milton High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Mid-Distance/Distance / 5'7"

High School Accolades:
Earned a fourth-place finish with Milton High School at the 2022 GHSA 7A Cross Country Championships…Tallied a 2022 Cross Country Region Championship with Milton…Finished in seventh place at the 2023 GHSA 7A Track & Field Championships with Milton…Holds a 1600m personal record of 4:16 and a 5K personal record of 15:23.

Joe Fahrney
Landisville, PA / Hempfield High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 6'4"

High School Accolades:
Earned an LL League First-Team All-Star selection in 2022 with Hempfield High School.

Henry Horne
Freeport, ME / Freeport High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Mid-Distance/Distance / 6'1"

High School Accolades:
Tallied a Maine Class B State Championship in the 800m in 2023…Recorded a 2023 Maine Class B State Championship in the 1600m…Won a Maine Class B State Championship in the 3200m in 2023…Won a Class B State Championship in the mile during the 2022 indoor track season…Helped lead the Nordic Ski team to a 2022 Class B State title…Named the Freeport Falcons Spring Athlete of the Year in 2023.

Cole McCue
Cumberland, RI / Cumberland High School
Track & Field/Cross Country / Mid-Distance/Distance / 6'1"

High School Accolades:
Holds the Cumberland High School record in the 800m…Member of the 4x1 mile relay team that holds the Cumberland High School record…Earned First-Team All-State honors in the 800m and the 1500m in 2023…Tallied a Rhode Island Class A State Championship in the 1500m in 2023…Notched a Rhode Island Class A State Championship in the indoor 1500m in 2023…Tallied a Second-Team All-New England honor in the one mile in 2023…Two-time First-Team All-Class honoree in cross country…Two-time Second-Team All-State in cross country.

Oliver Michell
Lake Leelanau, MI / Lake Leelanau St. Mary
Track & Field/Cross Country / Distance / 6'2"

High School Accolades:
Earned a Michigan State Championship with Lake Leelanau St. Mary…Tallied six different District Championships during his high school career.

Peter Pignetti
Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Country Day
Track & Field/Cross Country / Mid-Distance/Distance / 5'11"

High School Accolades:
Earned a silver medal in the 500m at the 2023 NC Independent Schools Indoor Championships…Finished 22^nd at the 2022 NCISAA Cross Country State Championships…Recorded a fifth-place finish at the 2022 CISAA/GCMSAA Cross Country Conference Championships.

Nicolas Rodgers
Sydney, Australia / Cranbrook School
Track & Field / Mid-Distance / 6'0"

High School Accolades:
Earned an Australian National Championship in the 800m in 2022… Picked up a national bronze medal in 2022 competing in the 1500m…Four-time gold medalist in the 800m and the 1500m in Australian national meets… Holds a personal record of 3:47 in the 1500m and a 1:51 in the 800m.