By Jack McLoone

The women’s cross country team finished sixth at the Eastern Conference Athletics Conference/Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championship on Friday, while the men finished in 13th. The women’s sixth place finish was their best at the ECAC/IC4A Championship since 1992.

“Honestly, everyone has been working hard and has had such a positive attitude this entire season,” said senior Angelina Grebe. “I feel truly blessed to have been on the same team with such hard-working and supportive teammates, and to see us do so well as a team was terrific and well-deserved.”
Following up her strong performance in the NCAA District Regional, senior Abigail Taylor led the way for Fordham, finishing 14th with a time of 17:28.

“In a team of incredibly hard workers, Abby has got to be one of the toughest and most dedicated,” said Grebe. “She is so committed and put in hundreds of miles early in the season to be able to close out so well. She had an amazing season, and I think the solid individual performances the past few meets will give her confidence going forward.”

Behind Taylor and also finishing in the top 30 was Grebe herself, who crossed the line in 17:41, good for a 26th place finish. A pair of Rams finished a second apart but two places apart: senior Laurel Fisher (41st, 18:01) and junior Sydney Snow (43rd, 18:02). This happened again further down the line, with senior Kate McCormack finishing 55th in 18:15 and freshman Sarah Daniels 57th in 18:18.

Rounding out the women’s finishers were senior Blake Elwood (67th, 18:31), sophomore Germaine Harbaugh (85th, 18:44), junior Katarzyna Krzyzanowski (93rd, 18:50) and freshman Bridget Alex (94th, 18:53).

The women scored 170 points for their sixth-place finish. Temple won the meet with 23 points, as the Owls’ top six runners finished in the top 10 and all seven in the top 20.

The men’s side had a surprising top finisher: freshman Brandon Hall, who came in 58th with a time of 24:17. Junior Sean Sullivan was their next finisher, placing 66th in 24:22.

The most surprising finish was junior Ryan Kutch, who dominated most of the season but came in 93rd after crossing the line in 24:59.
Rounding the race out for the Rams were graduate student Brian Cook (94th, 24:59), sophomore Will Whelan (107th, 25:16), junior Matthew Roma (108th, 25:19) and junior Patrick Donahue (137th, 26:03).

The men’s 373 points put them in 13th; New York City rival Stony Brook scored just 25 points.

There were also coaches’ races for both the women’s and men’s teams. The finishers for the women’s team were: sophomore Maeve O’Connor (eighth, 18:59), senior Kelsey Coppingger (ninth, 19:00), sophomore Bridget White (19:32), senior Kieran Hanrahan (48th, 20:29), sophomore Julia Herms (58th, 20:44), freshman Jessica Walker-Corbett (63rd, 20:54) and senior Elizabeth Morisseau (76th, 21:35).

For the men: freshman Jack O’Connell (28th, 25:38), sophomore Patrick Norako (35th, 25:56), freshman Alberto Mena (45th, 26:16), sophomore Thomas FitzPatrick (57th, 27:01), junior Marc Guberti (61st, 27:12) and sophomore Kieran Press-Reynolds (66th, 27:53).

With the chapter closed on another cross country season, the racing Rams do not have much of a break. The indoor track season kicks off this Saturday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m. at the Ocean Breeze Opener. The Rams will then have one race at home, the Fordham season opener on Dec. 7, before winter break.

“I know that, coming off of a successful season, all of the cross country runners are hungry for more historic finishes and for making a big splash at conference meets as a team,” said Grebe. “All of the non-cross track runners have been working extremely hard during their preseason, and I am stoked for us to all come together and really turn some heads during track.”