Senior runner Tyler Canaday believes the sky’s the limit for men’s cross country this season.
In 2024, Canaday competed in three races representing the Red, finishing fifth, seventh and sixth on the team.
Following the 2024 season, the Red lost many talented runners. Derek Amicon ’25 was the fastest on the team and the only one to make an appearance at the Cross Country National Championship race, placing 48th out of 252. Damian Hackett ’25, an All-American in track and the second-fastest cross country runner for the Red, also graduated.
This season, Canaday has stepped up to the plate: finishing first on the team twice and third once, along with decreasing his personal record by 25 seconds.
“You really need to fill the space that’s left by the guys that graduate,” Canaday said.
Born in Severna Park, Maryland and enrolled in the College of Engineering, Canaday had an unusual path to becoming a Division l runner. Having been cut from the soccer team as a freshman in high school, he joined the cross country team as a fallback. But it was not until his junior season that he realized he was a cut above the rest.
“Halfway through my junior year, I started running times [that] people in the classes above me were running, and they were going to Division I schools,” Canaday said. “That’s when I realized this is maybe something I can take to the next level.”
During the recruiting process, Cornell always felt like the right choice for Canaday. He cited head coach Mike Henderson and the "familial environment” as a reason for him to commit.
“I got [other Division l offers], but I was pretty happy here,” Canaday said. “After my visit, I met a lot of nice people. [Head] coach Henderson’s great, and I felt like this is where the family is.”
Since his freshman year, Canaday has run at the Ivy League Championship race every year, along with the Northeast Regional Championship since his sophomore year.
When probed for his favorite memory over the past four years, Canaday enjoys the camaraderie more than the running itself.
“I think my favorite thing is traveling,” he said. “I think going to the hotels, eating the dinners and just hanging out with your guys before the race is just a super awesome experience.”
Big Red Leadership
While not having official captains, the Red has always relied on its seniors to steer the ship. Canaday is no exception to this rule, having been described as a true leader on the team by Henderson.
“I’ve always been someone who’s pretty vocal,” Canaday said. “Combined with doing the right things day in and day out [and] setting the right example, I think that’s a really good winning combination for leadership.”
Canaday, in line with Cornell cross-country’s mantra, ascribed a familial environment to the overall leadership structure of the team.
“We definitely have a group, like all the seniors, [who] I think are totally comfortable leading too, and that just creates a big, cohesive group,” Canaday said. “It’s not more of a hierarchy, it’s more an episode of family.”
Canaday drew leadership inspiration from several of his former teammates, Perry Mackinnon ’23, Rishabh Prakash ’23 and Rhys Hammond ’24 in particular. In the eyes of Canaday, those three were instrumental in turning the team from a bottom-feeder to one eyeing a bid at nationals.
“Six, seven, eight years ago, we maybe weren’t a team that was as competitive in the Ivy League as we are now. It took the diligent efforts of a couple main people, including Mackinnon, [Prakash] and [Hammond] [to change that],” Canaday said. “These guys showed our team that you can be serious and you can have fun, [and that] this team can be good if you really put in the work and you really want to be good, if you have a passion.”
Exemplary of Canaday’s hard work and dedication this season, he was awarded Ivy League Athlete of the Week Honor Roll on Oct. 6.
“I think as you make that jump [in performance], you’re gonna get recognized, but yeah, there’s plenty of work to be done,” Canaday said.
Last Dance
Canaday, having decided against pursuing a professional running career for now, has only a few competitive cross-country races left. Nevertheless, he plans on enjoying every second of it.
“It’s all or nothing, man,” Canady said. “You’ve got to lay it all on the line. This is totally, totally fun.”
Despite the increased excitement, adrenaline and intensity for these races, Canaday emphasized the need for caution and level-headedness.
“I think not panicking is an important thing to remember,” Canaday said. “If you start to freak out and change what you’ve been doing, then that’s how you get hurt. That’s how things fall apart. So just keep your head down and remember that you’re out there running for the guys around you, and you’re out there running because you love it.”
The men have not qualified to the National Championship Race as a team since 1992, the third-longest drought in the Ivy League. Last year, the men were slated to qualify for nationals, until certain results in the West Region altered the outcome, resulting in yet another miss.
“We were really, really, close last year,” Canaday said. “The guys will tell you that we were on the bus home … [after seven kilometers] in the West Region, we were going to Nationals, and three things switched in that last [kilometer] and then we weren’t going to Nationals, and that really crushed us.”
Canaday promised that there will be no heartbreak this year.
“We will be making nationals,” Canaday said. “I’ll come out here and say it: this has been our goal, and I don’t think anyone on the team is afraid to say it.”
