MECHANICSVILLE, Va. – On Saturday morning, the American University cross country teams took to the course for their first races of the season, competing at the University of Richmond's Spider Alumni Open. Both teams competed in races shorter than their standard cross country distances; the men saw a 6000m race, while the women kicked off the season looking at 4000m.
QUOTES FROM COACH GRAHAM
"All-in-all, a solid start to the season for both the men's and women's squads.
"On the women's side, June led the way and was followed close behind by very strong races from
Callia Cordasco and
Brooke Evans together. Our top five was finished off by a great debut from
Amy O'Connell who was closely followed by grad student
Rachael Potter.
"In the men's race we had strong numbers near the front with Row leading the way and followed by sophomores Kaden, Carver, and Cooper in our two, three, and four spots. Freshman
David Manfredi had an impressive debut in the AU uniform as our fifth man. It was a little disappointing to miss out on third place by a mere five points, but certainly a good place to start overall.
"We'll be back on the grass next week at the full race distances where our current training should be helpful."
WOMEN
- The women's team placed eighth out of the 16 programs that participated in the 4k event; five Eagles on the squad competed in their first cross country event for American. This is also the first time any member of the Eagles' women's crew has run this exact distance.
- Senior June Mwaniki, for the ninth time in her AU career, paced the group with her finish of 14:44.2. She finished 31st overall in the race.
- Not far behind, the runners that finished in places two through five all crossed the line within eleven seconds of one another.
- Callia Cordasco, a fellow senior on the team, finished second for the Eagles and 47th overall at a pace of 15:12.1.
- Brooke Evans, competing in her first cross country event for American after joining the squad midway through the 2022 cross country season, finished 48th overall, and in third place for the crew, just five seconds behind Cordasco.
- Rounding out the top five, finishers four and five came from both sides of the spectrum with first-year Amy O'Connell finishing fourth at 15:20.9 and fifth-year Rachael Potter claiming fifth, crossing the line in 15:23.7.
MEN
- The men's team came in fifth out of the 14 programs that competed in the 6k on Saturday morning in their season opener. Three members of the group were racing in their first cross country event as an Eagle.
- Fifth-year standout Row Sullivan represented the men's program and, for the 16th time in their cross country career, paced the squad. They came in first for the Eagles and 18th overall with a time of 18:32.8, a 17 second personal best.
- Sophomores Kaden Kluth, Carver Morgan, and Cooper Michaud picked up right where they left off last season, and finished in places two, three, and four for American; all three setting new personal bests in the 6000m distance.
- Kluth's finish time of 18:40.3 is six seconds shy of a minute faster than his time in last year's 6k opening race, and Morgan timed a 43 second personal best. The largest growth from the sophomore grouping came from Michaud, who's finish was a minute and eight seconds faster than it was last year in the season opener.
- David Manfredi, a freshman, rounded out the top five for the Eagles on their opening day, crossing the line in 19:13.3.
WOMEN'S 4K RESULTS
31.
June Mwaniki, 14:44.2
47.
Callia Cordasco, 15:12.1
48.
Brooke Evans, 15:17.9
51.
Amy O'Connell, 15:20.9
53.
Rachael Potter, 15:23.7
60.
Estella Miller, 15:30.2
65.
Lucia Ianello, 15:40.7
67.
Hannah Schwab, 15:42.1
71.
Cassandra Daniele, 15:50.2
82.
Kate Riley, 16:06.9
85.
Kirah Tianga, 16:09.8
89.
Skyler Tatum, 16:16.8
104.
Hannah Puckett, 16:28.7
106.
Scarlett Lestina, 16:30.30
MEN'S 6K RESULTS
18. Row Sullivan, 18:32.8 (PR)
22. Kaden Kluth, 18:40.3 (PR)
28. Carver Morgan, 18:47.6 (PR)
37. Cooper Michaud, 19:06.1 (PR)
43.
David Manfredi, 19:13.3
47.
Oscar Counsell, 19:17.8
56. Nathan Reeves, 19:27.4 (PR)
57.
Mathias Deldicque, 19:28.0
58. Ethan Puc, 19:28.5 (PR)
117.
Tucker Zullo, 20:55.0
123.
Danny O'Neill, 21:10.2
125.
Jack Chandler, 21:15.6
NEXT UP
- The Eagles will return to action in a weeks' time on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Annapolis, Md. at the Navy XC Invitational. The women will be increasing the distance to their standard 6K, while the men will be increasing to a 4.9 mile race.
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