LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – A pair of former Trinity University standouts, Emily Loeffler and Molly McCullough, along with DePauw University’s Lauren Reich and Rhodes College’s Taylor Stephens – a quartet that combined for six SCAC Runner-of-the-Year and six USTFCCCA All-America honors – highlight a remarkable list of student-athletes named to the Southern College Athletic Conference’s 30th Anniversary women’s cross country team. Complete Release
Trinity led the way with six selections to the exclusive team, followed by Colorado College with three selections and former league member DePauw boasted two honorees. University of Dallas and former conference members Rhodes and Centre College each had one honoree, respectively, on the all-anniversary team.
SCAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY – 30TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM
- Emily Loeffler, Trinity University
- Molly McCullough, Trinity University
- Lauren Reich, DePauw University
- Taylor Stephens, Rhodes College
- Anna Wilgenbusch, University of Dallas
- Leah Wessler, Colorado College
- Leslie Dillon, DePauw University
- Caitlin Masse, Trinity University
- Maddie Murphy, Trinity University
- Eileen Schilling, Centre College
- Laura Taylor, Trinity University
- Katie Sandfort, Colorado College
- Rosemary Steup, Trinity University
- Leah Veidhuisen, Colorado College
Loeffler earned SCAC All-Conference honors all four years of her career, which included three top-three finishes (2006-2008) and a SCAC Runner-of-the-Year honor in 2007. She was a two-time Runner-of-the-Week honoree and was a four-time USTFCCA All-Region performer. On the national stage as a senior, Loeffler earned All-American honors, finishing 17th as she led her Trinity Tigers to a sixth-place team finish, which still stands as the top mark for team finishes in SCAC women’s cross country history. Her individual finish is the fifth best in SCAC women’s cross-country history at the national meet.
McCullough posted three top-five finishes (2016-2018) at the SCAC Cross Country Championships on her way to earning All-Conference honors all four years of her standout career, including SCAC Runner-of-the-Year as a senior in 2018. She was a seven-time SCAC Runner-of-the-Week honoree and holds two of the top-10 fastest times ever at an SCAC (6K) Championship meet. At the 2017 meet she ran the second-fastest time (21:25.97) and at the 2018 meet she ran the ninth-fastest time (21:51.97) while leading the Trinity women to conference titles in both seasons. On the national stage, McCullough was a four-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer and is one three members on this 30th Anniversary Team to earn multiple All-American honors, finishing 38th as a junior and 21st as a senior at the national championship meet.
Reich is one of just nine runners in SCAC history to win multiple Runner-of-the-Year honors, bookending her outstanding career when she won as a freshman in 2006 and again as a senior in 2009. In between, Reich posted back-to-back runner-up finishes to earn All-Conference honors all four years of her career with four top-two finishes. She led DePauw to four-straight conference titles (2006-09) and led the Tigers to a seventh-place national finish in 2007, the second-best team finish in SCAC women’s cross-country history. A four-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer, Reich is one of just three to earn multiple USTFCCCA All-America honors (2008 and 2009). Her fourth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships is the highest-ever finish for a SCAC individual.
Stephens was a three-time All-Conference performer, including SCAC Freshman and Runner-of-the-Year in 2008, and then again earned Runner-of-the-Year honors in 2010. Her 2010 performance led Rhodes to its first conference title since 2002 and its last as a member of the SCAC. She was a three-time Runner-of-the-Week performer throughout her decorated career and her finishing time at the 2008 championship (21:30.00) is the fourth-fastest for a SCAC (6K) championship meet. On the national stage, Stephens was a three-time UTTFCCA All-Region performer and won the 2008 USTFCCA South Region Athlete of the Year. She was an All-American in 2008 when she finished 35th at the national championship meet.
Dallas’ Wilgenbusch is the lone active athlete to make the 30th Anniversary Team following outstanding freshman and sophomore campaigns. She is a two-time All-Conference performer, including earning SCAC Runner-of-the-Year in 2019. A five-time SCAC Runner-of-the-Week honoree to this point in her career, Wilgenbusch earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in 2019 and was named the USTFCCA South Region Athlete of the Year. She capped off her sophomore campaign by earning All-America honors following a 38th-place finish at the national meet to become Dallas’ first-ever cross country All-American and the 13th woman in SCAC history to do so.
Colorado College’s Wessler became just the third runner in league history to earn SCAC Runner-of-the-Year honors three times in their career, taking top honors in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She was the league’s Freshman-of-the-Year in 2013 and led the CC women to conference titles her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. On the national stage, Wessler was a three-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer and collected All-America honors in 2016 after finishing 22nd at the national championship meet.
DePauw’s Dillon, the 2005 SCAC Runner-of-the-Year, was a two-time All-Conference performer and helped guide the Tigers to three-straight conference titles from 2003-2005. She earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors as both a junior and a senior and capped off her career as an All-American in 2005. Her ninth-place finish at the 2005 NCAA Championships is the fourth-best ever finish for a SCAC women’s runner at the national championship meet.
Trinity’s Masse posted three top-10 finishes at the SCAC championships in her career, including her senior season when she finished second at the 2009 event. A three-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer, she also earned All-American honors in 2009 after finishing eighth overall at the NCAA Championships – the third-highest individual finish for a SCAC runner.
A three-time All-SCAC performer, Trinity’s Murphy won SCAC Runner-of-the-Year honors as a sophomore in 2011 and then closed out her career by winning her second Runner-of-the-Year honor in 2013 as a senior. Sandwiched between her two Runner-of-the-Year honors, Murphy finished second at the SCAC meet as a junior to help lead Trinity to its first-ever conference title. A four-time SCAC Runner-of-the-Week honoree, she also was a four-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer.
One of only three women in SCAC history with multiple All-America cross-country honors, Centre’s Schilling was a four-time All-SCAC performer from 2003-2006. She posted three top-five finishes at the conference championships, highlighted by her second-place finish as a sophomore in 2004. A four-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer, her two All-America performances came in back-to-back years in 2004 and 2005 when she finished 33rd and 35th, respectively, at the national meet.
Taylor was a three-time All-SCAC performer for Trinity, posting two top-five finishes, which included SCAC Runner-of-the-Year honors for her first-place finish at the 2017 meet. Her winning time of 21:22.13 is the fastest 6K time in SCAC Championships history. Taylor was a member of two SCAC team titles with the Tigers in 2017 and 2018 and was a three-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer (2016-2018).
A member of CC’s first-ever SCAC cross-country team title in 2014, Sandfort finished her career as a three-time conference champion and earned All-SCAC honors three times, including a personal-best second-place finish at the 2016 championships as a senior. After earning USTFCCCA All-Region honors in 2015 and 2016, she capped off her career with a 26th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors.
The 2010 SCAC Freshman-of-the-Year, Trinity’s Steup was a four-time All-SCAC performer in her career with four top-five finishes, including a career-best runner-up finish as a freshman. A member of two title-winning teams in 2012 and 2013, Steup was a four-time USTFCCCA All-Region performer for the Tigers.
A four-time All-SCAC performer for Colorado College, Veidhuisen turned in a pair of top-five performances in her career, including earning SCAC Freshman-of-the-Year in 2015 when she finished fifth. A 2015 and 2016 SCAC team champion with the CC Tigers, Veidhuisen finished her career as a three-time USTFCCA All-Region performer.
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will be announcing 30th Anniversary teams in 21 sports throughout the 2020-21 academic year. The league selected 15th Anniversary teams during the 2005-06 academic year – those selections can be found here.
The SCAC's 30th Anniversary teams were selected through balloting by present coaches in each sport as well as administrators. Athletes who participated in conference competition between the fall of 2005 through the spring of 2020 and had been named to at least two All-SCAC teams and/or were a selected as a Player-of-the-Year in their respective sport were eligible for selection.
The SCAC was formed in 1991 after a reorganization of its predecessor, the College Athletic Conference (CAC). The CAC dates to 1962 with four charter members: Centre College, Southwestern @ Memphis (now Rhodes College), Sewanee-The University of the South, and Washington & Lee (Va.) University. Washington (Mo.) University joined the CAC later that same year.
The SCAC was formed to provide an association through which the member institutions may encourage organized competition in intercollegiate sports among teams representative of their respective student bodies. Members of this conference share a commitment to priority of the overall quality of academic standards and quality educational experiences.
