Women's Cross Country 3/8/2011 4:57:00 PM Presbyterian College Athletics

Cross Country Announces 2011 Signing Class

CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College cross country team and the athletic department announced the signing of four student-athletes for the 2011-12 season.

Jennifer Lockman joins the women's team from Woodruff High School where she ran for two seasons under Steve Ramey and Brian White. She was a multi-sport athlete who also earned letters in soccer and track. Lockman was named the "Top Scholar," "MVP," and team captain her senior year of cross country. Her 5k personal best of 22:55 was set at the upper-state meet her junior year. Not limiting herself only to only athletics, Lockman is a member of Teens for Christ, FCA, the Spanish Club, and is president of her local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Recently, she was elected to the "Senior Hall of Fame" at Woodruff H.S. Lockman is the daughter of Samuel and Amy Lockman with two sisters, Samantha and Cassidy. Her older sister, Samantha, plays soccer at nearby Converse College. She plans to major in chemistry.

Jessica Hatchell joins the women's team from Darlington High School where she ran for three seasons under the direction of Rich Wideman. While competing at Darlington, she attended class at Mayo High School for Math, Science, and Technology where she is class valedictorian. Hatchell was a two-sport athlete who also runs track. As a junior, she ran a personal best (5k) of 20:17 to win a race at Darlington HS by over three minutes. Weeks later she ran a 20:18 at the 2009 South Carolina State meet to finish 26th in AAA. She was the Region 6-3A champion in the two mile and pole vault as well as the 2010 Region 6-3A cross country champion (20:49). Hatchell was voted team captain her senior year and is the first runner from Mayo HS to run at a Division I college. She is the daughter of Ken and Vicki Hatchell and has one sister, Jennifer. Hatchell intends to major in biology.

Gabriele Lesieur joins the women's team from Greenbrier High School where she ran four seasons of cross country and track for Katie Smallwood. She was voted team captain of her cross country team her junior and senior seasons as well as track captain her senior year. Lesieur has set personal bests in the 800m at 2:36, 1600m at 5:47, and 5k at 20:33 while earning the "Coaches Award" and team "MVP" honors. She is the daughter of Dawn and Brian Lesieur and has two siblings, Nicole and Brian. Her father played baseball and rugby at Central Connecticut State. While at PC, Lesieur plans on completing the pre-med degree while also participating in ROTC.

JJ Carruth joins the men's team from Landrum High School where he ran for three seasons under the guidance of Jeremy Darby. He was a multi-sport athlete who also ran track and played golf. Carruth was a member of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 South Carolina 1A State Championship cross country team while also being named all-state, all-region, all-area, and all-academic each year. His accomplishments are not limited to only athletics, as he was a Palmetto Boys State participant, the president of FCA, yearbook editor, voted "Most School Spirit," served on Student Council, and volunteered with Hospice. He is the son of Johnny and Tammy Carruth while having two sisters, Katherine and Nicole. He plans to major in political science.

"I am very excited to add each of these runners to our family for next year," said head coach Thad Palmer. "All four will have a direct impact on the program's success starting as early as day one. Each one is not only talented, but motivated. Not to mention, they were all leaders in the classroom as well as in their respective communities. I hope to keep attracting great student-athletes like these as we continue moving forward as a program."

Check back at www.GoBlueHose.com to see any and all further additions to the cross country roster for the 2011 season. The team is first scheduled to compete on September 3 in Spartanburg, S.C. at the annual Eye Opener race.

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