Loushine shines on

Georgia College & State University’s Women’s Cross-Country team has earned new bragging rights with their star runner, Bethany Loushine. Currently a sophomore, Loushine is charging into her second season with the Lady Bobcats and she’s leaving more than dust in her trail.

Loushine is leaving her mark in the school record books; she has re-wrote the school record as a freshman and earned All-Peach Belt Conference honors. She was GC&SU’s top finisher in all eight meets, including a notable last season first place finish at the Paine College Invitational and second place finish at the Presbyterian College Invitational. She holds all five of the fastest 5K times in school history, including a school record time of 20:26, good enough for a 14th place finish at the Peach Belt Championships last year.

“I just think about winning races… and trying to keep up with the guys,” said Loushine.

A native Georgian from her hometown of Martinez, Ga. attended high school at Lakeside in Evans, Ga. This is where Loushine earned ‘Most Valuable Runner’ honors and was named the Rotary Club’s ‘Top Female Athlete’. She also received Outstanding Freshman Honors in running as well.

No stranger to excellence in running, Loushine finds cross-country to be rewarding because of, “the feeling of accomplishment after a long run or a good race.”

“Being healthy and in shape is a major priority for me, so running helps me accomplish this,” said Loushine.

Through studious academics here at GC&SU, Loushine is chasing her dreams.

“I’m aspiring to be a Pharmacist,” said Loushine. I love everything about GC&SU. Every professor and administrator I’ve encountered has been kind and helpful, especially everyone in the Chemistry department. That’s where I spend most of my time since my major is Chemistry.”

When she’s not making tracks cross country, Loushine enjoys hanging with friends and swimming, “I always hang out with my roommate, Jami,” said Loushine. “I love going out with all my friends. Whenever its not raining, we’ll be out at our pool.”

Thoughts on this season are promising in Loushine’s mind; “I’m so excited about both teams this year. We gained some impressive runners this season. The girl’s first race was an 8k, instead of 5k like our normal races so it’s hard to say exactly what our potential is,” said Loushine.

Loushine awaits her next race with a positive attitude, “I’m looking forward to the 14th, which is our next race,” said Loushine. “We’ll be competing with nearly every team in our conference. I know we’ll do great!”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 6 2002. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry