NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas announced the signing of 14 men’s and women’s distance student-athletes.
Transfer student Ashlee Gallegos and freshmen Briana Bennis, Colette Kinsella, Gianna Leone, Catherine Sommerfeld, Clara Steer and Elsa Steer will be joining the women’s cross country and track and field programs this fall. The men’s cross country team signed transfer students Max Blader, Max Hughes and Andrew Pahnke and freshmen Brady Bliven, Jack DesRoches, Patrick Ford and Jackson Scruggs.
Three-time Nike Track Nationals All-American Gallegos will join the Commodores after spending one year at USC. While competing for the Trojans, she placed eighth in the 1,500 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays and finished second among teammates and 92nd overall at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships. While prepping at J Serra Catholic, Gallegos was a four-time Arcadia Invitational champion and was a member of the 2021 California state cross country championship-winning team. In 2022, she won the 1,600 meters at the Orange County Championships, recording a prep-best time of 4:55.41.
Bennis, of Elmhurst, Illinois, earned 11 all-conference and six all-state cross country and track and field selections while prepping at Elmhurst (York) High School. In 2023, she was third at the Illinois State Cross Country Championships and placed third in the 3,200 meters at the state track and field championships. During her senior cross country season, she won the Aurora Section and LaGrange (Lyons) Region titles. Bennis led her high school cross country team to the state championship in 2022 and second place in 2023. Her prep-best times include 4:58.47 in the 1,600 meters, 10:24.08 in the 3,200 meters and 16:56.4 in the 5K (cross country).
LaGrange Park, Illinois, native Kinsella is a sectional and two-time regional champion in cross country. She medaled four times at the Illinois state cross country meet and was named the 2023 Nazareth Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. On the track, she earned fifth place in the 3,200 meters at the IHSA state championships with a prep-best time of 10:51.62 and medaled at sectionals in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
Leone prepped at Waccamaw High School, where she was a six-time track state champion—four times as an individual. She won three state titles in the 1,600 meters from 2021 to 2023 and was first in the 3,200 meters at the state championships in 2021. Three times she…