Prado Park's hard conditions no match for CMS
CHINO, Calif. – The SCIAC Cross Country Championship belonged to the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps cross country program on Saturday morning as both the Stags and Athenas overcame unpleasant conditions to take first place. Facing humid weather and muddy fields, CMS trekked through the uneven footings and plots of gopher holes at Prado Park to secure top placements at the finish line. The Stags scored 47 points, barely holding off Pomona-Pitzer (51) and Whittier (52). The Athenas won first at 33 points while Pomona-Pitzer took second at 75 points despite their leading runner, Maya Weigel, finishing first overall and finishing ahead of the next runner by 16 seconds.
The course and conditions weren't kind to the Stags as several of their main runners weren't at their usual placement halfway through the race. While senior Joshua Sealand (HMC) managed to finish within the top three as expected, taking second overall at 25:54.49, freshman Thomas D'Anieri (CMC) stepped up and grinded through with his best run of the season, finishing fifth overall at 26:25.25. Senior Jesse Joseph (HMC) was placed 10th overall at 26:37.16, giving CMS three runners in the top 10. Senior Nico Banks (CMC) finished 14th at 26:46.01 and Garrett Ryan (CMC) took 16th at 26:51.72.
Despite Weigel's top finish, the Athenas collectively had a strong effort to secure first place. As expected, junior Bryn McKillop (SC) was the highest placed Athena at third overall, clocking in at 23:31.25, and senior Carmen Mejia (SC) followed right behind her at 23:31.33. Sophomore Malea Martin (CMC) took sixth at 23:36.39 and senior Caroline Willian (CMC) finished in eighth at 24:02.68, making it four Athenas to finish within the top 10. However, the most notable surprise in the race was junior Roselyn Cantu (CMC) who took 15th overall and broke her course PR at 24:33.81.
The cross country program will prepare for the NCAA West Regional in two weeks on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. The event will be held at Salem, Oregon and the top finishers will be invited to compete in the NCAA D-III National Championship.
By Young Kim
Sports Information Assistant
CMS Email Updates
CMS Athletics on Facebook: AthleticsCMS
CMS Athletics on Twitter: @AthleticsCMS
CMS Athletics on Instagram: cmsathletics
CMS Athletics YouTube: ClaremontMuddScripps
#gostags
