FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women's cross country program continued to showcase its dominance across the Sunshine State Conference, as standout Jillian Thorning was named the SSC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Jordan Stygar earned recognition as the SSC Freshman of the Year, the league office announced Thursday morning.
Thorning becomes just the sixth athlete in SSC history to win multiple Runner of the Year honors and joins former Shark Alexandria Palm (2013) as the only other Nova Southeastern runner to earn the distinction.
The junior from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was once again the conference's top performer in 2025, finishing the regular season undefeated against SSC opponents across three races. Thorning opened the year with a first-place finish at the Keiser Invitational (18:00) before adding another win at the St. Thomas Bobcat Invitational, where she topped a field of 59 runners in 22:25. She also delivered a standout performance at the Florida State Invitational, placing 13th out of 351 runners with a season-best time of 21:36 in the 6,000-meter race.
Adding to NSU's success, freshman Jordan Stygar made an immediate impact in her debut season, becoming the fourth women's cross country runner in program history to earn SSC Freshman of the Year honors, and the first since 2020-21.
The Storrs, Connecticut native opened her collegiate career with a third-place finish at the Keiser Invitational (18:00, 5K) and followed with another third-place effort at the St. Thomas Bobcat Invitational (23:04). Stygar continued to impress against elite competition, finishing 56th of 351 at the Florida State Invitational (22:49) and 27th of 246 at the UAH Charger Invitational (22:13).
Under the direction of head coach Jonathan Carter, the Sharks' women's cross country program has now collected both Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors in the same season for the first time in program history.
The Sharks will be back in action Saturday, October 25th, at 8:45 AM to kick off action at the SSC Cross Country Championships.
For complete coverage of Nova Southeastern cross country, visit NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on social media at @NSU_XCTF.
