Cross country kicked off its season on Saturday, Sept. 2, in Hamilton, New York, where the team competed at the Harry Lang Invitational. The Red was coming off an impressive 2022 campaign. Last year’s squad placed third in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championship and third in the NCAA Northeast Regional.
Nine teams competed at the invitational this year. The men’s team ran a 6,000 meter race, while the women’s team competed in a 5,000 meter race.
For the men, the first Cornell runner to cross the finish line was sophomore Kamran Murray at 20:07, coming in 34th place. Freshman Tyler Tisinger finished in 41st place with a time of 20:15.
The Red’s next two runners were not too far behind. Freshman Alexander Kasper clocked in at 20:25, with sophomore Zachary Winnicki finishing a second later. Cornell’s last scorer was freshman Adam Martinson, with a time of 20:45.
The Red finished the race with 199 points, good enough for seventh place. The team total was just four points shy of Binghamton and seven points ahead of Lehigh. Syracuse dominated the field with a total of just 23 points.
The women’s team fared similarly. The Red’s first finisher was freshman Kate Ahmari, completing the race at 19:52. Nine seconds later, freshmen Maisie McManus and Marissa Gaut completed the race just four tenths of a second apart.
To round out the scorers, sophomores Madeline Nelson and Brook Hirsch clocked in at 20:07 and 20:29, respectively. The team totaled 213 points and finished in eighth place, only finishing ahead of Binghamton. Bucknell won the meet with 38 points.
While both teams finished towards the bottom of the pack, it is worth noting that the Red did not race any of its upperclassmen runners. Because this race is a shorter length than championship meets, Head Coach Mike Henderson opted to give his younger runners a chance to acclimate to collegiate races before the season ramps up.
Cross country will continue its season on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Yellowjacket Invitational in Rochester, New York.