RICHMOND, Va. – The American University cross country team started their season this morning at the Richmond Spider Alumni Opener. Both teams placed fourth for a strong opener.
To start the day, the men's squad was led by senior
Carver Morgan, who placed eighth in a 6k PR of 18:16.6. Sophomore
Noah Smith followed in 13th with a PR of 18:32.3. Senior
Cooper Michaud (18:45.0) and sophomores
Zack Zerbe (18:47.2) and
Jaden Frederick (18:48.4) rounded out the scoring five, crossing the line in 28th, 29th, and 30th, respectively.
The women's squad was led by three freshmen.
Shealyn Brochu crossed the line first for the Eagles, placing 10th in 13:53.6 for 4k.
Emma Colavito (21st) and
Lydia Drago (22nd) ran 14:18.4 and 14:25.4, respectively. Senior
Sophia Staiger crossed in a PR of 14:32.8 (25th). Sophomore
Zoe Rector completed the scoring five, crossing the line in 35th with a PR of 14:41.2.
COACHES' CORNER
"We had a solid start to the season today," said head coach
Sean Graham. "These really early cross country meets are a good opportunity to remind ourselves what racing on the grass is like and the strategies that we'll use and work on through the season.
"The men's team ran fine. We didn't have everyone on the line and in the jersey today but still needed to tighten a few things up to have had a good one. We have the potential to have a great, and advantageous, pack of 3-7 but didn't work together as well as we could in that range. On the bright side, most of the guys ran pretty significantly faster than last year over the same course. So we've learned what to work on with that group and will do it better as the weeks go on."
"Overall this was the best opener from this group I've seen by a landslide, led confidently by three freshmen in their debuts in the AU jerseys," said assistant coach
Zach Prescott. "
Lydia Drago took the group out hard while
Emma Colavito and
Shealyn Brochu worked together to move up to her on the second lap. Shealyn opened up some space over the last 1k, with Emma and Lydia closing great to finish 10th, 21st, and 22nd respectively.
Sophia Staiger and
Zoe Rector improved their place finishes from last year, with Sophia moving from 35th to 25th and Zoe jumping from 47th to 35th to round out our scoring five.
"A group of three solidified some depth for us behind this group, with
Kara Langbaum,
Georgina Chalow, and
Charlotte Orr opening up on the grass. Overall we finished with an average scoring time nearly a minute faster than last year on the same course. I am very proud of how this team has come together, set their intentions for the year, and attacked the opener to start building momentum in this 2025 campaign."
View the full results
here.
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MEN'S RESULTS (4/13)
8.
Carver Morgan, 18:16.6 (PR)
13.
Noah Smith, 18:32.3 (PR)
28.
Cooper Michaud, 18:45.0
29.
Zack Zerbe, 18:47.2 (PR)
30.
Jaden Frederick, 18:48.4 (PR)
40.
Barak Goldstein, 19:15.4 (PR)
57.
David Manfredi, 19:31.7 (PR)
81.
Jack Chandler, 20:15.8 (PR)
98.
Daden Grogan, 20:46.7
WOMEN'S RESULTS (4/14)
10.
Shealyn Brochu, 13:53.6
21.
Emma Colavito, 14:18.4
22.
Lydia Drago, 14:25.4
25.
Sophia Staiger, 14:32.8 (PR)
35.
Zoe Rector, 14:41.2 (PR)
60.
Kara Langbaum, 15:09.1 (PR)
62.
Georgina Chalow, 15:11.1
63.
Charlotte Orr, 15:11.4
79.
Estella Miller, 15:28.4 (PR)
80.
Kate Riley, 15:29.7 (PR)
81.
Catherine Hany, 15:30.6 (PR)
86.
Scarlett Lestina, 15:41.2 (PR)
91.
Skyler Tatum, 15:42.9 (PR)
99.
Fiona Murphy, 15:52.4
101.
Grace Kirk, 15:55.7
121.
Hannah Schwab, 16:32.3
146.
Hannah Puckett, 18:17.9
