BETHLEHEM, Pa. – American University's cross country team took to the course at its conference rival, Lehigh, for the NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday afternoon. The men's and women's teams were both able to place top 25 at Regionals with the men taking 17th and the women taking 21st thanks to aggressive, tactical racing. 
 
QUOTES FROM COACH GRAHAM
"We closed out the season well today on both the men's and women's side. For the women, we had nearly every athlete PR by significant margins. June Mwaniki led the way with another great race, finishing 72nd with nearly a 30 second PR. Callia Cordasco had a banner day as well, placing 112th and over 50 seconds better than her previous best. Those two, plus Kate Riley, Hannah Schwab, and Estella Miller all had PR times.
 
"On the men's side, Row Sullivan put forth the cross country race of their career, placing 58th and over a minute faster than ever before. They were followed by strong races from Kaden Kluth, Cooper Michaud, Sean Stuck–in their first 10K races ever–and Carver Morgan. The guys were in a good position at the halfway point and faded a little in the middle, but they fought back and closed well in the last kilometer.
 
"All in all, it was a good way to close off the season. They raced aggressively and the majority ran faster than they ever have, and at the right time to do it."
 
WOMEN

• June Mwaniki was the top finisher for the women's team for her 14th time in her AU career. She finished in 72nd place with a 21:27.8 in the 6 kilometer race and ran almost thirty seconds faster than her previous 6K personal best.
• Coming in second for the women was classmate, senior Callia Cordasco, placing 112th with a 22:02.3. She moved up 12 places in the overall standings throughout the race.
• Kate Riley finished third for the Eagles with a time just two seconds off from matching her personal best, and twenty seconds behind her was sophomore Hannah Schwab coming in with a personal best as well.
• First-year Estella Miller, the only one of her class at the event, earned a PR and rounded out AU's top-five finishers of the afternoon.
• Kirah Tianga, like Cordasco, also moved up in the standings one place finishing 176th with a time of 23:46.5.

MEN

• The men's team was led by graduate student Row Sullivan, placing 58th overall with a time of 31:10.7 in the 10 kilometer race. Sullivan's time was over a minute faster than any of their previous cross country 10k race paces.
• Sophomore Kaden Kluth who was the top finisher for the Eagles at the Patriot League Championships, moved up 10 places during the race to grab a finish of 87th with a time of 31:45.4. This was a personal best for Kluth by over 30 seconds.
• In their first collegiate 10K races, sophomore Cooper Michaud wasn't far behind Kluth placing 106th with a 32:04.8 while senior Sean Stuck finished fourth for the Eagles in 115th place with a 32:25.8.
• Carver Morgan closed out AU's top-five finishers with a 40 second personal best and was followed by first-year Hayden Hauser in his first ever 10k who came 134th overall and junior Oscar Counsell at 141 and coming across the line in 33:06.8. 

WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS
72. June Mwaniki, 21:27.8 (PR)
112. Callia Cordasco, 22:02.3 (PR)
139. Kate Riley, 22:36.2
156. Hannah Schwab, 22:55.3 (PR)
158. Estella Miller, 22:58.2 (PR)
170. Rachael Potter, 23:27.4
176. Kirah Tianga, 23:46.5 (PR)
 
MEN'S 10K RESULTS
58. Row Sullivan, 31:10.7 (PR)
87. Kaden Kluth, 31:45.4 (PR)
106. Cooper Michaud, 32:04.8
115. Sean Stuck, 32:18.6
118. Carver Morgan, 32:25.8 (PR)
134. Hayden Hauser, 32:48.6
141. Oscar Counsell, 33:06.8
 
Next Up

• This finishes out the cross country season for the Eagles. They start preparing for indoor track in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_TrackXC) and Instagram (@AU_TrackXC) in the coming weeks for their indoor track schedule release.