Runner of Year Aspen Gordon Headlines All-SSC Team as Logan Wells Named Coach of the Year

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Fourteen student-athletes are named to SSC Women's Cross Country All-Conference Teams following the 2023 conference championship. After capturing its 17th league title, the University of Tampa wins seven All-SSC honors, including Runner of the Year and Coach of the Year.

League coaches voted for Runner, Freshman, and Coach of the Year awards, while runners who finish Top-14 at the 2023 SSC Women's Cross Country Championship earn All-SSC status. Florida Southern College hosted this year's championship at Holloway Park on October 21st.

SSC Championship / All-SSC History | Runners / Coaches of the Year | All-SSC Teams

For the second time in SSC history, two athletes share Runner of the Year honors in women's cross country¹.  Coaches voted Aspen Gordon from Tampa and Emma Mussante from Florida Southern College as the top league athletes in 2023.

Gordon, a senior from Morton, Illinois, finished Top-10 in all four of her regular season races and Top-5 in three meets. Her best regular-season performance came at Mocs Kickoff, where she came in second place. Gordon also ran a career-best 5,000-meter time of 17:35 at the UAH Charger Invite, finishing fourth. Gordon won the 2023 SSC Individual Championship with a 6,000-meter time of 21:38.6. She is the ninth Spartan to win the conference title and the ninth to win Runner of the Year².

Mussante, a junior from Middleburg, Florida, registered a pair of Top-10 finishes in 2023. Her top performance during the regular season came at the Montevallo Classic with a career-best 5,000-meter time of 18:04. Mussante is the first Moccasin to win the award since 2006 and fifth overall³.

Emma Hanstveit from Palm Beach Atlantic University is selected as Freshman of the Year. The Osterøy, Norway product posted a win at the Kesier Invitational and a second-place finish at the Fire Invitational during the regular season. She was the top freshman finisher at the SSC Championship, crossing the line in fourth place with a 6,000-meter time of 22:05.2. Hanstveit is the first Sailfish to be named Freshman of the Year in women's cross country.

Tampa's Logan Wells is voted Coach of the Year by his peers. The Spartans won the Mocs Kickoff and UAH Charger Invite during the regular season. UT also finished second in the Southern Stampede and fourth at the Florida State invite, earning a No. 17 ranking from the USTFCCAA. Wells and the Spartans captured the 2023 SSC Championship with a 24-point lead over the field, with UT runners finishing 1-3-7-8-13 to secure the title. Wells is the second Tampa head coach to win the honor⁴.

Gordon highlights the repeat All-SSC honorees with her fifth straight All-Conference honor. She was a First Team honoree in 2022 and 2019, sandwiching a pair of Second Team laurels in between. Gordon was also tabbed Freshmen of the Year in 2019. Her teammate and fellow First Teamer, Emma Skinner, was named Freshman of the Year in 2022. Nova Southeastern University's Eden Toal moves up to the First Team following Second Team honors in 2022. FSC's Ellie Fluman collects her third consecutive Second Team nod.

Runner of the Year: Aspen Gordon, Tampa
Runner of the Year: Emma Mussante, Florida Southern
Freshman of the Year: Emma Hanstveit, Palm Beach Atlantic
Coach of the Year: Logan Wells, Tampa 

= # of Previous All-SSC First Team Honors
^ = # of Previous All-SSC Second-Team Honors
† = # of Previous Freshman of the Year Honors 

¹ Jessica Butler from Tampa and Tereza Novotna from Saint Leo shared Runner of the Year in 2011

² Past SSC Runner of the Year winners from FSC: Jael Koech (2006), Alli Tatangelo (1999-00), Michelle Solan (1998), April Booe (1997).

³ Past SSC Runner of the Year winners from UT: Zoe Jarvis (2019 & 2021), Jessica Butler (2011), Heather Nicolosi (2010), Jessica Forrester (2008), Laura Woznicki (2007), Allison Macsas (2003-05), Dee Dee Haefling (2002), Tracey Buxton (2001)

⁴ Past SSC Coach of the Year winners from UT: Jarret Slaven (2001-05, 2007-13, 2015, 2018-20)