Cross Country/Track & Field Teams Take Part in Mascots for the Cure

GBC Cares | 12/9/2019 12:00:00 AM

Tweet #GBCLightning

Goldey-Beacom's cross country/track & field teams once again took time to provide care for the community by participating in the Mascots for the Cure 5K race in Wilmington.

Student-athletes for the Lightning were on the course serving as race marshals, using their experience as both cross country and track & field competitors to help manage the event and provide a better experience. Those taking part included Cara Jones (Wilmington, DE), fellow junior Chris Townsend (Voorhees, NJ), Chris Crossen (Magnolia, DE), fellow freshman Lilly Crone (Felton, DE), senior Jono Hooper (Brisbane, Australia) and head coach Andrew Shearer.

"The first Mascots for the Cure 5k seemed like a natural event for the GBC cross country teams to participate as volunteers and course marshals," Shearer said. "Often, runners don't see the other side of events such as the planning and execution that goes on for a race day. Having Strike, GBC's mascot, there with over 20 other area mascots helped make the event a success and a successful fundraiser for cancer research."

This certainly is not the teams' first gesture of community service. The squads in past years have continued their participation in Soles4Souls to help fight poverty. Both squads have collected shoes given to the worthwhile charity with collection boxes set around various points on campus.

The men's cross country team won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Sportsmanship Award in 2017 and 2018 with the women's cross country squad claiming the honor in 2018. The league awards one honor per year for each sport in sanctions.

This serves as just another example of the selfless dedication of our student-athletes to the community through GBC Cares, the department's community service arm. Other endeavors included, but are not limited to, celebrating National Women and Girls in Sport Day at a local elementary school, the tennis team helping with Tennithon and the Delaware Wheelchair Tennis Championships, the softball team helping with both the Thanksgiving collection for the New Castle County EMS Division Paramedics and Toys for Tots and both baseball and softball taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Run.

Goldey-Beacom in 2019 grabbed third place for the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence, marking the second time in four years it was honored on the national level. The athletics department received $1,000 for the honor at the NCAA Convention in Orlando with the intention for future community engagement events.

This year's honor was entitled "Veterans of The Summit: Stories of Service" and comes from its work with The Summit, a retirement community in Hockessin which houses veterans of the military. With the help of GBC Cares, this is the fourth academic year in which the College's student-athletes have volunteered their time and talents to provide help, entertainment and friendship to many who served in the United States military.

The department in 2019 also was the CACC Community Engagement Award.

Mascots for a Cure, a Wilmington based organization, is dedicated to help children and their families battling cancer and other illnesses. Through passion, relentless pursuit of goals and the power of mascots, they foster hope, joy, love and creating positive memories to support children and their families.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Jono Hooper: 6' 0"; Senior

Chris Crossen: 5' 8"; Freshman

Cara Jones: 5' 5"; Junior

Lilly Crone: 5' 6"; Freshman

Chris Townsend: 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Jono Hooper
: 6' 0"; Senior

Chris Crossen
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Cara Jones
: 5' 5"; Junior

Lilly Crone
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Chris Townsend
: 6' 0"; Junior