If there is a limit to how many cross-country running awards a student athlete can receive, Greenbrier East senior Abbey Londeree is probably approaching the maximum number.
Londeree, a cross-country star, will continue her time on the tracks for Concord University next fall after recently signing her national letter of intent.
As a junior in 2021, Londeree was the regional champion and this past year in 2022, her current senior year, she placed second. During track season last year as a junior, she qualified for states in the 4×800 with her teammates and has been a cross-country state qualifier since her freshman year in 2019. Her senior track season begins soon, as she will look to qualify yet again for a state opportunity.
Her cross-country team beat Woodrow in the regionals this past year for the first time since 2009. For her efforts, Londeree added the top performer award at her senior cross-country banquet to her long list of accomplishments.
Londeree, an avid runner since she was young, gives the Mountain Lions an experienced runner to add to their program.
“I decided that I liked to run as soon as I started middle school. As a little sixth grader coming straight out of elementary school, I always wanted to do a sport, but I just didn’t know what sport exactly. However, one thing I always knew about myself was that I was always very competitive in elementary school in gym class, and I would win the pacer test every year,” Londeree said.
“I also won a race at my elementary school when I was in first grade called ‘the mile run,’ and I grew up as a farm girl, so I was constantly active. I grew up around running so once I was introduced to cross country, I fell in love with it immediately and knew that running was the sport for me,” she continued.
Londeree knows most of the girls on the cross-country team at Concord, and that familiarity made the school an easy selection for the senior.
“I chose Concord because many of the girls on the team over there have run with me since middle school or all of my high school career. I knew that I was going to be comfortable with that group and grow closer to them, so I was very excited about that. I also felt like coach (Mike) Cox was going to be the best fit for me. I’ve always been a mental runner more than a physical runner, so I believe that coach Cox can build up my physical ability in great ways.”
Putting Londeree in the best position for her to succeed will be up to Cox, but Londeree has a good idea about where she can excel.
“I would like to compete in the mile or 5,000 meter at Concord, because I believe that distance has always been my thing even on the track, so those events would be what’s best for me,” Londeree said.
She credits her family for always being there and challenging her to be her best.
“My family is a huge influence on my success. Not once has my family ever failed to be there for me, and I thank the Lord for them every day. They have always pushed me to do my best and they are my biggest supporters,” Londeree said.
After she gets done running laps around anyone and everyone in Athens, Londeree hopes to learn how to solve crimes one day.
“My major at Concord is going to be criminology, because I have always been someone who has been invested in true crime documentaries and I have always wondered why criminals do what they do. I think it’s a very interesting topic and one that I will enjoy,” she said.
However, before enrolling at Concord and before she helps bring down a notorious psychopath, Londeree still has some business to take care of a Spartan: “Make it to states in my region in the 1,600 meter and the 3,200 meter,” Londeree said confidently.
