THE BRONX, N.Y. – Both American University cross country squads placed in the top 10 teams at the ECAC/IC4A Championships on Friday (Oct. 17). The women started the day placing ninth of 25 teams in the ECAC Championship, and the men followed with a fourth place finish of 22 teams in the IC4A Championship. This was AU's last regular season meet before the Patriot League Championships (Oct. 31) and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (Nov. 14) at Lehigh.

Shealyn Brochu continued her streak of leading the women's team, placing 11th with a 6k time of 21:29.8. Emma Colavito followed in 34th place, running 22:10.9. Zoe Rector (22:50.2) and Lydia Drago (22:53.7) ran closely together to finish in 75th and 85th, respectively. Kate Riley rounded out the scoring for the Eagles in 99th, running a season best of 23:02.9.

Kaden Kluth crossed the line first for the men's squad, placing eighth in an 8k time of 24:35.8 after moving up 12 spots in the last third of the race. Cooper Michaud (24:54.6) broke into the top 20 with an 18th place finish. Carver Morgan (29th) and Noah Smith (32nd) ran 25:10.9 and 25:13.8, respectively. Emmett Engelhardt rounded out the men's scoring, placing 50th in a PR of 25:28.5.

COACHES' CORNER
"We ran well today," said head coach Sean Graham. "Each regular season meet this fall, there have been things that we've looked to improve upon, and again today we accomplished many of those things. As always, there are some areas that we need to continue to improve, but the guys ran aggressively today and just missed coming home with hardware at a competitive and storied meet.

"One of the goals for the meet was to put ourselves — individually and as a team — in positions to compete up front, and we did that very well. Kaden continued to bolster his presence in the front of cross country races as our low stick finishing eighth. Cooper came back to form not far behind, with Carver and Noah as our third and fourth. Freshman Emmett Engelhardt continues to impress as our fifth man.

"The guys found each other and packed up well in the first half of the race, and if we can keep those packs together just a little longer we will be in very good shape for the championship portion of the season. Being just one point away from the podium today gives us a little extra chip on the shoulder to keep building that momentum into Patriot Leagues and beyond. All in all, we're in a very good place and are poised to keep getting better."

"We were really pleased with the group's performance today, particularly as we build momentum into the postseason," said associate head coach Zach Prescott. "Our plan was to remain composed and race hard over the last 3k. Some athletes that did this particularly well include Shealyn Brochu, who came away with an 11th place finish, as well as Kate Riley, who joined our typical scoring group of Emma, Lydia, and Zoe. I also felt Annie and Estella ran strong races, giving us some depth assurance.

"We had some whiplash after the race with the group wanting more than we walked away with. After spending some time reflecting on the performance, we recognized that any missteps were overshadowed by a performance that saw the group finishing ninth overall compared to last year's 18th place finish. This group has made a massive step forward, and the hunger to keep taking further steps is going to serve us incredibly well as we progress through the rest of the year."

View the full results here.

Next Up
The Eagles will return to Lehigh to begin the postseason at the Patriot League Championships on Oct. 31.

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WOMEN'S RESULTS (9/25)
11. Shealyn Brochu, 21:29.8
34. Emma Colavito, 22:10.9
75. Zoe Rector, 22:50.2
85. Lydia Drago, 22:53.7
99. Kate Riley, 23:02.9
119. Annie Ripol, 23:17.8
130. Estella Miller, 23:30.3
149. Scarlett Lestina, 23:55.2
154. Charlotte Orr, 23:58.7
162. Skyler Tatum, 24:02.6
163. Grace Kirk, 24:03.0
171. Georgina Chalow, 24:12.0
172. Kara Langbaum, 24:17.3
178. Fiona Murphy, 24:25.0
198. Hannah Schwab, 24:58.5

MEN'S RESULTS (4/22)
8. Kaden Kluth, 24:35.8
18. Cooper Michaud, 24:54.6
29. Carver Morgan, 25:10.9
32. Noah Smith, 25:13.8
50. Emmett Engelhardt, 25:28.5 (PR)
57. Jaden Frederick, 25:34.8
92. Ty Parker, 26:04.3
106. Zack Zerbe, 26:16.1
123. Barak Goldstein, 26:25.0
204. Jack Chandler, 27:59.0