Five Spartans Honored on SSC Women's Cross Country Team
Head coach Jarrett Slaven was Coach of the Year while Zoe Jarvis and Shannon Sweeney were first-teamers.
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Fourteen student-athletes were named to the All-Sunshine State Conference Women's Cross Country Teams following the 2018 conference championship. The University of Tampa is awarded five All-SSC honors after capturing its 14th league championship.
Runner, Freshman, and Coach of the Year awards are voted upon by league coaches, while runners who finish Top-14 at the 2018 SSC Women's Cross Country Championship earn All-SSC status. This year's championship was hosted by Rollins College and took place on November 3rd on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.
Tampa's Jarrett Slaven has been voted SSC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year by his peers. Slaven led the Spartans to the 2018 SSC Women's Cross Country team title, which is the first for the program since 2015. UT runners finished in fifth and sixth place then 12th through 14th to give the Spartans a narrow 53 to 56 victory over defending champions Embry-Riddle. It is the first time since 1993 for a cross country team to win the championship without a Top-3 runner1 and the only time a women's program has accomplished the feat.
UT had a pair of runners on the first-team, including senior Shannon Sweeney and sophomore Zoe Jarvis. The duo finished fifth and sixth respectively at the 2018 Sunshine State Conference Championships. Representing Tampa on the second team were Lexi Bible and Sydney Rhodes.
Sarah Edens of Embry-Riddle is named SSC Runner of the Year. The Gainesville, Florida product becomes the first ERAU female student-athlete to win the top individual award in an SSC sponsored sport. Edens claimed the 2018 SSC title with a time of 21:52.8, besting her teammate Kristin Metcalfe by 16.4 seconds. Edens finished Top-3 in four of her five races this season.
Lynn boasts Emannuelle Le Tertre as Freshman of the Year. The Sainte Terre, France native's eighth-place finish at the 2018 championship was the highest on her team and among freshman competitors. LeTertre becomes the first women's runner from Lynn to win an SSC individual award.
Along with Edens, Tampa's Zoe Jarvis repeats as a First Team selection from 2017. Metcalfe moves up to the First Team after Second Team accolades a year ago. Saint Leo University's Paige Patterson earns All-SSC honors for a fourth consecutive year, while her teammate Laura Tobin is awarded for a third straight season.
Runner of the Year: Sarah Edens, Embry-Riddle
Coach of the Year: Jarrett Slaven, Tampa
Freshman of the Year: Emannuelle Le Tertre, Lynn
SSC Championship / All-SSC History | Runners / Coaches of the Year
| SSC Finish | First Team | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| 1 | Sarah Edens^ | Embry-Riddle | Jr. | Gainesville, Fla. |
| 2 | Kristen Metcalfe* | Embry-Riddle | So. | Mississauga, Ontario |
| 3 | Hannah Flemming | Florida Southern | So. | Titusville, Fla. |
| 4 | Addison Cantor | Florida Southern | So. | Davidson, N.C. |
| 5 | Shannon Sweeney | Tampa | Sr. | Wayne, Pa. |
| 6 | Zoe Jarvis^ | Tampa | So. | Tampa, Fla. |
| 7 | Ashley Lindeman | Saint Leo | Jr. | Manistee, Mich. |
| SSC Finish | Second Team | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| 8 | Emannuelle Le Tertre | Lynn | Fr. | Sainte Terre, France |
| 9 | Laura Tobin^~ | Saint Leo | Sr. | Clonmel, Ireland |
| 10 | Paige Patterson | Saint Leo | Fr. | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 11 | Alyssa Bayliff^~ % | Saint Leo | Sr. | Ormond Beach, Fla. |
| 12 | Kara Funke | Embry-Riddle | So. | Leesburg, Fla. |
| 13 | Lexi Bible | Tampa | Jr. | Hermitage, Pa. |
| 14 | Sydney Rhodes | Tampa | So. | Gilbert, Ariz. |
^ =2017 First Team All-SSC Selection
* = 2017 Second Team All-SSC Selection
~ = 2016 All-SSC Selection
% = 2015 All-SSC Selection
1University of North Florida men's cross country won the 1993 SSC championship with its top runner finishing sixth.