LEWISBURG, Pa. – Two Eagles finished in the top 10 of the field at the Bucknell Bison Open on Friday as the American University cross country teams kicked off their seasons in Lewisburg. June Mwaniki finished sixth on the women's side while Russell Sullivan led the pack by finishing second place on the men's side.
 
WOMEN

• The women opened the evening with a breezy 3.9k to ease into the season and test out their paces.
• Junior Mwaniki paced the squad, topping the Eagles and finishing sixth in the field with a time of 14:36.7.
• In the second spot for AU was junior Kylie Raymond, who came in 13th overall, clocking a time of 15:00.3.
• Not far behind was freshman Sophia Staiger, who's time of 15:06.4 earned her a 16th place finish in her first collegiate event.
• Rounding out the top-20 in a field of over 60, was senior Rachel Potter in 17th with a time of 15:09.3, junior Nia Holden in 19th at 15:10.5, and freshman Annie Ripol who completed the course in a time of 15:11.9 to come in 20th in her first collegiate event. 

MEN

• The men's team began their season in Lewisburg with a 6k event that began at the twilight hour.
• The event saw standout senior Sullivan start their season off by finishing second place overall in 18:49.6. Sullivan's finish was the 11th time in their career at AU that they led the team in finishers.
• First year Carver Morgan started off his college running career with a top-20 finish, taking 17th place by crossing the line in 19:30.7.
• Kaden Kluth, another first year Eagle, ran the event in 19:34.8 to start his collegiate career, coming in 20th overall in a field of over 50 competitors.

QUOTES FROM COACH GRAHAM
"On the women's side I was very happy with the aggressiveness and confidence they brought to the race today. We had very good season openers from veterans and newcomers alike. June [Mwaniki] and Kylie [Raymond] had very strong races to lead the pack with a gutsy first race by Sophia as our third finisher."
 
"On the men's side we had a little more of a mixed bag. Great leadership from Russell [Sullivan] racing aggressively to a second-place finish. Freshmen Carver [Morgan] and Kaden [Kluth] had very strong collegiate openers as our two and three guys today. We'll need to get some stronger performances in the middle portion of the race from some of our other runners to be in a much better finishing position going forward."

WOMEN'S RESULTS
6. June Mwaniki, 14:36.7
13. Kylie Raymond, 15:00
16. Sophia Staiger, 15:06.4
17. Rachael Potter, 15:09.3
19. Nia Holden, 15:10.5
20. Annie Ripol, 15:11.9
22. Rowe Crawford, 15:17.5
23. Hannah Schwab, 15:18.4
27. Skyler Tatum, 15:25.5
29. Lucia Ianello, 15:30.6
31. Kate Riley, 15:32.8
32. Callia Cordasco, 15:34.4
39. Grace Kirk, 15:51.3
42. Cassandra Daniele, 15:56.8
43. Emily Neuner, 15:56.9
51. Kirah Tianga, 16:22.1
59. Kelsey Miskimins, 17:33.9

MEN'S RESULTS
2. Russell Sullivan, 18:49.6
17. Carver Morgan, 19:30.7
20. Kaden Kluth, 19:34.8
25. Alex Murphy, 19:46.8
27. Ethan Puc, 19:52.1
29. Nathan Reeves, 19:54.3
37. Tucker Zullo, 20:12.6
38. Cooper Michaud, 20:14.2
49. Danny O'Neill, 20:51.5

NEXT UP
The Eagles will return next Friday, September 9 at the Spiked Shoe Invite hosted by Penn State in State College, Pa.
 
KEEP UP WITH US
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