Shannon Porter graduated from Saint Martin's University in 2017 as one of the most decorated individuals in Cross Country/Track and Field history. After coming to Lacey from the JuCo ranks, her first signature performance came when she qualified for the 2015 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan and pulled out a career-best and beat her school record in the 10k, finishing ninth. In 2016, she competed in Pittsburg, Kansas at Indoor Nationals, where she became the first women Saint to receive All-American honors, finishing eighth. Later that spring, at the outdoor conference championship, she won her first GNAC crown in the 5k, while also finishing second in the 1,500. She had two more top-20 finishes at Nationals later that spring.
Porter splashed on to the cross-country scene in 2016, winning the GNAC's Newcomer of the Year with a second-place finish at her inaugural conference championships. After a third-place finish in Billings at the West Regional, she became the first ever woman to race at Nationals when she traveled to St. Leo, Florida. It was there she finish 24
th overall, becoming the first All-American in program history. Her mark still stands as the highest Nationals finish in school history. That spring, 2017, she won the GNAC Indoor 3k, before totaling a fifth-place finish at Indoor Nationals in that same event, once again garnering All-American honors.
Over the course of her Saint Martin's career, Porter was a six-time All-Region selection, holds seven career GNAC Athlete of the Week honors, and she still holds a total of seven SMU school records. Porter continued running after her graduation from SMU, and has qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials in Orlando, Florida on February 3
rd.
