Mississippi Christian cross country runners Baxter Friedman and Whitt Kilgore earned Gulf South Conference weekly honors after the MC Opener at Choctaw Trails, where the Choctaws won the season-opening meet.
Friedman, a senior from Fairhope, Alabama, was named the GSC Men’s Runner of the Week after finishing fourth overall in the men’s 5K in 15:30. He was the first Mississippi Christian runner to cross the line and helped lead the team victory.
Kilgore, a redshirt freshman from Birmingham, Alabama, was named the GSC Freshman of the Week. He finished eighth overall in 15:42, placing third among Choctaw runners and third among freshmen in the field.
The performance marked Kilgore’s top-five debut and set a personal record in the 5K. The two runners helped Mississippi Christian begin the 2026 campaign with a team victory and two conference weekly award winners.
Mississippi Christian will next compete at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday, September 18.
Jon Ross Myers founded Mississippi News Group in 2013. Before founding the organization, he worked at The Daily Mississippian, The Marion Salute and The Southern Sentinel. A Mississippi journalist and writer based in Ripley, he received second place in poetry in the 2025 William Faulkner Literary Competition for "The Garden."
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