SPARTANBURG, S.C. | The Georgia College & State University women's cross country team finished in fifth place at the Converse Kick-Off hosted by Converse University Friday (Sept. 5) evening at the Milliken Research Center.

The Bobcats finished with 123 points, while North Greenville won the 14-team meet with 50 points.

GCSU had three runners finish inside the top 30. Lauren Thisdale led the Bobcats with a 12th-place effort on the 5K course with a time of 19:59.5, while Bella Russell finished 17th with a time of 20:27.8 and Haven Bejnerowicz came in 23rd place at 20:50.6. Maddie Reese Smith finished in 33rd with a time of 21:23.2 and was followed by Izzy Hall (38th, 21:38.1), Emma Jow (45th, 21:48.7), Emily Wright (46th. 21:50.1) and Eva Jeswald (47th. 21:59.6) to round out the top 50.

Avery Wheeler came in 54th place at 22:13.2 and was followed by Lily Flood (58th, 22:19.8), Briley Ittel (66th, 22:39.3), Campbell Smith (88th, 23:52.5) and Lauren Hailey (89th, 23:56.8).

The Bobcats will compete next Friday (Sept. 12) at the UNG Cross Country Invitational hosted by the University of North Georgia in Oakwood, Georgia. The meet at the UNG Cross Country Course begins at 6:30 p.m.

 About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.