CMS Women's Cross Country Starts 2021 Campaign at Mark Covert Classic
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's cross country team looks to continue its long run of success into a new decade, when it travels to compete in the Mark Covert Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton, on Saturday morning.
The Athenas won both the SCIAC and the NCAA West Region Championships in 2019, which was the last time they were in action. The SCIAC title was the program's tenth in a row, covering the entire decade of the 2010s, while the regional title allowed CMS to qualify for the NCAA Championships as a team for the 12th year in a row.
CMS was poised to continue that run of success in 2020 with the return of every runner who scored in the SCIACs and the NCAA Regionals, but the loss of the season due to the pandemic took that opportunity away. The Athenas still return four of their top seven from the 2019 team, and several runners who were right behind that group who will look to step up in 2021. CMS had 10 of the top 20 runners at the 2019 SCIAC Championships, showcasing the program's depth.
Leading the way in 2021 will be senior All-American Riley Harmon, who came in third at the SCIAC Championships in 2019, and then came in 36th at the NCAA Championships to earn All-America status. She took a big leap as a sophomore, as did classmates Sophie Gitlin, Brooklyn Button and Emily Clarke, who were each on the list of All-SCIAC performers in 2019.
Senior Dulcie Jones made the decision to defer graduation for the chance to pursue a fourth league championship and a fourth trip to nationals, and her return makes the veteran core of Athena seniors in 2021 that much stronger. Jones has been All-West Region three times, and All-SCIAC three times, including first-team her last two years.
Leading the junior class is Isabella Brusco, who was named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year in 2019 after earning her way into the team's top seven and competing at the NCAA Division III Championships. The junior class also added some new members, including Megan Maley and Camille Elizabeth Forte, who were part of the CMS track and field team as first-years and will be competing with the cross country team for the first time this fall, and Meredith Bloss, who began her career at Division I Cornell.
Some of the Athenas were able to enter running events as individuals over the last year in order to keep some of their competitive juices flowing, but Harmon said being back with a team and getting ready to run again as a collective unit feels much more exciting.
"I missed it so much," said Harmon. "The team is so important to being able to run and being able to compete. I'm thrilled to be back with the team and practicing."
After competing in the Mark Covert Classic, the Athenas will run in the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 18 and the CSU San Marcos Cougar Challenge on Sept. 25, before its biggest event of the regular season, the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 2, where they will compete on the same Louisville, Kentucky course at Sawyer State Park where the NCAA Championships will be held in November.