EASTON, Pa. – The American University men's and women's cross country programs were out on the course Friday (Sept. 6) evening at the Lafayette XC Invitational in Easton, Pa. The Eagles were led by Kaden Kluth who claimed an individual victory in the men's 6k and Lucia Ianello in the women's 5k topped out in 11th place.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"The women replicated a strong opening result from Richmond, finishing third," started assistant coach Zachary Prescott. "Coming back from a loss last year against Lafayette at Patriot Leagues, we were hungry to come up to Preview their home course and demonstrate our improvements. We did so, finishing only behind a solid Bucknell squad from the Patriot League group.
 
"Lucia Ianello continued to lead our pack, showing great maturity and executing her race plan. June Mwaniki, Zoe Rector, and Sophia Staiger worked together throughout the race to make up the bulk of the scoring, with senior Kirah Tianga joining them in the scoring five for the first time this year.
 
"Overall, this group focused on elements of their race they wanted to work on from last week, with a marked improvement in their composure, confidence, and pack running. We have two months to continue that trajectory before returning for the 'Big One.'"
 
"Switching focus to the men's team, the Eagles came home from the day trip to Lafayette with a win against some good Patriot League teams, including a rival Bucknell squad. Our top four executed their race plan perfectly, hiding in the front pack for the first half of the race and making aggressive racing decisions and ultimately going 1-2-3-6.
 
"Kaden Kluth won his first collegiate cross country competition in dominant fashion, followed by Mathias Deldicque and Carver Morgan to round out a podium sweep. I am incredibly impressed with this group's developed racing maturity and composure. Following these upperclassmen were six freshmen, including Noah Smith, Ty Parker, and Jaden Frederick with Noah once again rounding out the scoring five.
 
"Overall, this group walks away with their first team win in any of their careers, knowing that it's going to take hunger and discipline in order to replicate a great result on the same course in a little under two months from now."

WOMEN

• The women's side finished strong in the third place spot for the second week in a row.
• Lucia Ianello was, for the second time in her AU career and second successive meet, the top finisher, in the women's 5k event. The senior hit a personal of 18:25.4 and narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish, coming in 11th. Ianello's finish was over two minutes faster than her previous personal best that was recorded three seasons ago when she was a freshman.
• June Mwaniki upped her finish from last week, climbing from fourth on the squad to second, while also claiming a personal best in the 5k, dropping from 20:10.2 in 2021 to a crisp 18:44.8.
• Freshman Zoe Rector was again the third place finisher for AU, coming across the line with a sub 19-minute finish and in 21st place overall at 18:58.4.
• Rounding out the top five for the Eagles was Sophia Staiger and Kirah Tianga. The junior and senior finished 22nd and 25th respectively and finished out the scoring for the squad. Tianga earned a personal best of over two minutes and pushed up from a ninth place finish in the 4k last week to top five in this week's 5k race.

MEN

• Another 6k for the men's team saw a 1-2-3-6 finish from the Eagles. The squad took first place overall. Junior Kaden Kluth led the Eagles for a fifth time in his collegiate career and led the entire pack of competitors to an 18:11.3 finish, a personal best, and to his first collegiate cross country victory.
• Sophomore Mathias Deldicque improved upon his time from one week prior and pushed to a second place finish both for the team, and overall. Deldicque's 18:28.8 finish was 20 seconds faster than his outing last week in Richmond.
• Carver Morgan, the third place finisher claimed a personal best in the 6k as well, also improving upon his time from one week prior. The junior was just two seconds behind teammate Deldicque.
• Classmate Cooper Michaud rounded out the top-10 finishers with a sixth place finish, fourth amongst teammates while freshman Noah Smith was the Eagle's fifth finisher, claiming the 11th overall spot. Smith, as a freshman, has finished fifth for the squad in both races so far this season.
• Following Smith were five of his classmates. Ty Parker earned an 20th overall finish followed closely by Jaden Frederick in 21st. Both Parker and Frederick raced to personal bests, coming in sixth and seventh amongst teammates. 

WOMEN'S 5K RESULTS
11. Lucia Ianello, 18:25.4 (PR)
18. June Mwaniki, 18:44.8 (PR)
21. Zoe Rector, 18:58.4
22. Sophia Staiger, 19:01.0
25. Kirah Tianga, 19:09.7 (PR)
35. Kara Langbaum, 19:28.5
38. Annie Ripol, 19:32.2 (PR)
40. Estella Miller, 19:24.2
50. Kate Riley, 19:50.6
61. Skyler Tatum, 20:07.7
73. Scarlett Lestina, 20:47.1
81. Brooke Evans, 21:07.0
88. Hannah Puckett, 22:10.2 (PR)
 
MEN'S 6K RESULTS
1. Kaden Kluth, 18:11.3 (PR)
2. Mathias Deldicque, 18:28.8 (PR)
3. Carver Morgan, 18:30.4 (PR)
6. Cooper Michaud, 18:40.6 (PR)
11. Noah Smith, 18:47.6 (PR)
20. Ty Parker, 19:02.6 (PR)
22. Jaden Frederick, 19:05.4 (PR)
29. Daniel Messer, 19:18.6
30. Zack Zerbe, 19:19.7
36. Jacob West, 19:30.6
39. Hayden Hauser, 19:38.6 (PR)
40. Barak Goldstein, 19:43.1 (PR)
46. David Manfredi, 19:52.7
50. Daniel O'Neill, 20:00.5 (PR)
65. Jack Chandler, 20:34.3 (PR)
84. Papakojo Danquah, 21:09.5
85. Landon Morrison, 21:09.6

NEXT UP
The Eagles have two weeks off before they jet up to Minneapolis, Minn., to participate in the racing at the Roy Griak Invitational on Friday, Sept. 20.
 
KEEP UP WITH US
For the latest on the Eagles Cross Country and Track teams, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the squad on Instagram (@AU_TrackXC) and Twitter (@AU_TrackXC).