Senior Aaron Davidson and four underclassmen guided Cornell’s men’s cross country team to a solid third-place finish at Saturday’s Steve Johnson/Dan Huston Invitational, hosted by Wartburg College.
Cornell put all five scorers in the top 75 and totaled 106 points. Wartburg claimed the team title with 18 points and Wash U. was runner-up with 39.
Davidson continued a terrific fall, recording his third top-10 showing. He completed the 8-kilometer course in 25:08, good for ninth place out of 167 finishers. Davidson was the first non-Wartburg or non-Wash U. runner to cross the line.
Sophomore Emery Bird ran well for 35th place in 26:15. Cornell’s next three team scorers came from freshmen Caleb Schopen in 62nd (27:09), Gabe Soda in 73rd (27:33) and Tyler Bilskie in 75th (27:38). Freshman Isaak Hutchings was six seconds behind Bilskie in 77th.
Women’s raceIn the women’s race, freshman Natalie Neuhaus again set the pace for Cornell’s pack, placing 41st out of 123 finishers in the 11-team meet. Neuhaus covered the course in 24:11.49 and was 11th among all freshmen entries.
The Rams finished fifth with 158 points in the team standings, which saw No. 2 nationally-ranked Wartburg (30 points), No. 6 Wash U. (30), Iowa Central Community College (138) and NCAA Division I Northern Iowa (141) ahead of them.
Sophomore Jeanelle Jimenez also cracked the top 50 in her first collegiate 6K race, crossing only two seconds behind Neuhaus. Jimenez was clocked in 24:13, taking 44th overall.
Billie Fogarty placed 52nd in 24:48. She was followed by sophomore Michelle Nava in 62nd (25:14) and freshman Hanna Walsh in 66th (25:24) to round out Cornell’s point scorers.
The Rams teams next travel to Rock Island, Ill., Oct. 16 for the Augustana Invitational. Race time is 11 a.m.