LEWISBURG, Pa. – The American University track team started its 2022-23 season at the Bucknell Bison Opener on Saturday. The event saw four first-place finishes and positive results when looking forward to the rest of the season that restarts in January.

Sophomore Oscar Counsell and junior Ethan Puc both earned IC4A qualifications with their finishes in the men's mile run and the men's 800m run. Freshman Fernando Ibarra also cemented himself into the American record books with his finish in the men's 200m dash. 

• Counsell saw the first win of the day, pacing the field in the men's mile run with a time of 4:17.30. He was followed closely by Nathan Reeves who came in second at 4:19.09. Danny O'Neill and Tucker Zullo came in fourth and sixth respectively
• In the women's one mile, freshman Sophia Staiger crossed the finish in second place with a time of 5:25.28. Two classmates, Kate Riley and Annie Ripol joined her as top-10 finishers.
• Puc was the next first place finisher of the day, coming across the line in the men's 800m run in 1:55.37. He was followed closely by freshman Kaden Kluth who came in second at 1:58.16.
• The women's 800m was next and Callia Cordasco and Rowe Crawford finished eighth and ninth respectively.
• In the women's 500m dash, Grace Kirk finished third at 1:22.92, followed up by Lucia Ianello, Kirah Tianga, and Kelsey Miskimins in seventh, eighth, and ninth place respectively.
• Ibarra made his debut in an American jersey and earned fourth place in the men's 200m dash with a time of 22.89s. This time earned Ibarra a spot in the American record books; he's now second overall.
• In the men's 3000m event, two Eagles, Row Sullivan and Alex Murphy, split the top spot with identical times of 8:51.78. They were followed by three more teammates, Michael Dua, Carver Morgan, and Cooper Michaud in the third, fourth, and fifth spot respectively.
• June Mwaniki took second the women's 3000m. Rachael Potter and Skyler Tatum took fifth and seventh in the event.

QUOTES FROM COACH GRAHAM
I'm really happy with the way the way both teams competed today. This is a very early meet, and the athletes came out and competed just like we asked; championship style racing with the goal of event wins and placing. They did exactly that, on the women's side we went third, seventh, eighth, and ninth in the 500, eighth and ninth in the 800; second, seventh, and eighth in the mile, and then second, fifth, and seventh in the 3000m.
 
For the men fourth in the 200; first and second in the 800; first, second, fourth, and sixth in the mile, and then first, second, third, fourth, and fifth in the 3000m.
 
This early in the season, no one is sharp, but our athletes still competed aggressively and came out of the meet with a lot of great racing experience and wins to motivate them for the next six weeks of training over winter break. All-in-all, a great starting place. Now, we train to prepare for the real racing season in January and beyond.

AU RESULTS

EVENT	RESULTS
200m Dash, Women	12. Chloee Dotts, 26:85 | 38. Neev Agarwal, 29.33
200m Dash, Men	4. Fernando Ibarra, 22.89* | 28. Brian Gutro, 24.79
400m Dash, Women	15. Jessica Bakas, 1:07.15 | 16. Tori Maignan, 1:08.58 | 17. Eva Gibson, 1:09.55 PR | 18. Maya Porter, 1:13.83 PR
500m Dash, Women	3. Grace Kirk, 1:22.92 | 7. Lucia Ianello, 1:27.11 PR | 8. Kirah Tianga, 1:27.77 | 9. Kelsey Miskimins, 1:28.22 PR
800m Run, Women	8. Callia Cordasco, 2:26.51 | 9. Rowe Crawford, 2:28.77 | 17. Cassandra Daniele, 2:38.00
800m Run, Men	1. Ethan Puc, 1:55.37 PR | 2. Kaden Kluth, 1:58.16 | 11. Ethan Horton, 2:07.66
Mile Run, Women	2. Sophia Staiger, 5:25.28 | 6. Kate Riley, 5:36.76 | 8. Annie Ripol, 5:42.00
Mile Run, Men	1. Oscar Counsell, 4:17:30 | 2. Nathan Reeves, 4:19:09 | 4. Danny O'Neill, 4:28:14 PR | 6. Tucker Zullo, 4:29.22 | 19. Jack Chandler, 5:59.38
3000m Run, Women	2. June Mwaniki, 10:15.25 PR | 5. Rachael Potter, 10:48.48 | 7. Skyler Tatum, 10:58.28
3000m Run, Men	1. Alex Murphy, 8:51.78 PR | 1. Row Sullivan, 8:51.71 | 3. Michael Dua, 8:52.92 | 4. Carver Morgan, 8:57.30 | 5. Cooper Michaud, 9:00.84
4x400m Relay, Women	11. Tianga, Gibson, Miskimins, Ianello, 4:35.57
4x400m Relay, Mixed	7. Gutro, Kirk, Daniele, Puc, 4:00.59 | 8. Ibarra, Dotts, Cordasco, Kluth, 4:01.35

 
NEXT UP
The Eagles don't return to action until 2023, on January 13 at the Spartan Invitational hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas College at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.
 
KEEP UP WITH US
For the latest on American University Cross Country, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_TrackXC) and Instagram (@AU_TrackXC).