Wingate University Athletics

2016: Received Academic All-America® track and field/XC third team honors from CoSIDA in the spring of 2017…Honorable mention All-SAC at the 2016 SAC XC meet with her 5K time of 19:29…Made third appearance in both the Southeast Regional (22:37.7, 6K) and NCAA national championship races (23:25.5, 6K) as a junior…Wingate has won two SAC women’s cross country titles and made three NCAA XC national meet appearance in her career…SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll student…

2015: Named to the Academic All-District™ III women's track & field/cross country team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) during the spring of 2016…Honorable mention All-South Atlantic Conference at 2015 league meet with 5K time of 19:38 as ‘Dogs won their third consecutive league crown…Participated in both the Southeast Regional and NCAA national championship races, posting 6K times of 26:26 and 23:04, respectively…The NCAA national meet time was a personal-best clocking…SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll student…

2014: Earned second team All-SAC honors at the SAC championship meet by finishing 12th with a 19:31 5K time…Competed in the Southeast Regional meet posting a 6K time of 24:06 to claim 34th place as Bulldogs earning national meet berth…In the NCAA Division II national championship meet, placed 188th with a 5.78K time of 24:24…SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll student…

Previous School: Valerie Griesche was a member of the cross country and track teams at Katharinen-Gymnasium. Griesche’s coach was Birgit Nixdorf. Her sister (Cornelia Griesche) was second in the 2014 Southeastern Conference 3000 meter steeplechase for Mississippi State University. Cornelia Griesche qualified for the NCAA Division I national championships in the same event. Valerie is the daughter of Guenther and Elisabeth Griesche.

Personal:
Full name is Valerie Griesche...Born on September 16, 1995 in Ingolstadt, Germany...Daughter of Guenther and Elisabeth...Majoring in Biology...Favorite class at Wingate: Advanced Cell Biology...Favorite athlete: Gesa Krause...Favorite sports team: FC Ingolstadt...Favorite movie: McFarland...Valerie can’t imagine a week without: Chocolate...Favorite Food: German pancakes...Most memorable sports moment: Finishing 1st at SAC championship 2015 in the steeplechase...Favorite sport to play other than cross country: Skiing...People Valerie most admires: My sister Cornelia...How Valerie gets ready for a race: Eating a roll with honey as pre-race meal...Something people don't know about you: I want to travel the world...Nickname: Val...Valerie thinks the fastest person on the team is Madi, strongest is Madi, and funniest is Amy...Favorite quote: "It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."

Why Valerie chose Wingate:
To earn a degree in Biology and run XC and track in a college.