Cross Country Performs Well at Regionals

Temperatures may be cooling in Ithaca as winter approaches, but the cross country season is just heating up. On Saturday, the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in NCAA Division I New England Regional championships.
The men’s side followed up its impressive second-place showing at Heps with an equally impressive fifth-place performance at Regionals. The Red finished among the elite schools in a 34-team field in what many consider the toughest region in the nation.
Cornell’s team score of 193 points was just behind Ivy rival Brown. Cornell finished ahead of Brown at Heps and may have done the same at Regionals had freshman Adrien Dannemiller been healthy enough to complete the race.
Senior captain Sage Canaday led the way for the men. He finished eighth overall by completing the 10k course in 30:13.25 He improved by almost three minutes compared with his time from a season ago.
“Last year, I had a pretty bad race at Regionals,” he said. “This year, I was a lot stronger. I was more patient during the race and over the last year I’ve put in a lot more training.”
Junior Zac Hine finished second for the Red and 27th overall. Senior Jimmy Wyner placed 35th in his final opportunity at Regionals. Juniors Andy Miller and Sam Luff rounded out the scoring for Cornell, placing 55th and 65th, respectively. The team missed the contribution of Dannemiller, who began the race hoping to fight through any health concerns, but was unable to finish.
“We had some guys like Sam Luff and Andy Miller who stepped up for us,” Canaday said.
The fifth-place finish for the men was a significant improvement compared to last year, when the Red tied for eighth.
“We were mildly disappointed because we were ranked fourth in the region, but we definitely improved since last year. It’s a step in the right direction,” Canaday said.
The women’s team finished seventh within a 36-team field. Once again, the Ivy League was represented well, as five of the six competing Ivy League teams placed in the top-10.
The young trio of runners that has carried the Red most of the season once again led the way. Sophomore Stepahanie Pancoast finished first for the Red and 19th overall. Freshmen Kim Standridge and Katie Sullivan were close behind, finishing 32nd and 36th, respectively.
“I was happy. It was a [personal record],” Sullivan said. “I’m just happy with how the team did. That’s more important.”
Junior Marie Parks along with classmate and captain Aeriel Emig placed 55th and 58th, respectively, to round a very balanced attack for the Red.
All five scoring members of the Red finished within a 52-second period. Despite her relative inexperience, Sullivan appreciates the importance of having such balance and depth on the squad.
“To be able to race together is something that’s really important to our team,” she said. “We’re able to run together and not have to be islands out there by ourselves. Being such a young team and not graduating anyone this year… that’s really exciting. We can continue to work together and improve together.”