Cornell landed three all-conference individuals at the Midwest Conference Women’s Cross Country Championships Saturday afternoon at Tuscumbia Golf Course.
Junior Billie Fogarty, sophomore Michelle Nava and freshman Natalie Neuhaus all cracked the top 20 to earn all-MWC recognition for the Rams, who finished fifth in the team race with 105 points.
Fogarty surfaced as Cornell’s lead runner, placing 13th out of 88 finishers with a 6K time of 24:31. She improved 15 places from the last contested MWC meet in 2019.
Neuhaus crossed 17th in 24:55 in her MWC debut. Nava, also competing in her first Championship meet, was less than one second behind Neuhaus in 18th place (24:55).
Sophomore Jeanelle Jimenez ran 25:15 for 24th place, 13 seconds shy of the all-MWC cutoff. Freshman Hanna Walsh brought in Cornell’s fifth team score in 39th (26:47).
The Rams put three more runners inside the top 50 with Sam See in 46th (27:48), Miranda Hall 48th (27:55) and Mio Aoki-Sherwood 50th (28:02).
Cornell suffered a tough break when junior Caroline Riss dropped out of the race halfway through due to injury. She was fourth in 2019.
Lawrence outdistanced runner-up Grinnell for the team title, 42-62. Ripon was third with 72 points and Monmouth fourth with 97.
Freshman Cristyn Oliver of Lawrence claimed the individual crown in 22:30.
Men’s XCSenior Aaron Davidson was crowned Cornell’s first Midwest Conference men’s cross country champion in 31 years and the runner-up Rams fielded five all-conference runners at Saturday’s MWC Championships on Tuscumbia Golf Course.
Cornell battled it out with Lawrence in a tight race for the team championship, won by the Vikings by a 46-50 margin. Picked fifth in the MWC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the young and rising Rams placed in the top two for the third time in the past four MWC meets.
Davidson, the clear-cut favorite entering the day, did not disappoint in clocking a winning 8K time of 25:43. He outdistanced runner-up David Potter of Ripon by 29 seconds.
Davidson’s title comes five months after he was tabbed MWC South Division Outdoor Track Performer of the Year. He’s now a two-time all-MWC cross country honoree, improving on a 10th-place showing as a sophomore.
Cornell’s last individual men’s cross country conference champion was Andrew Tobben in 2010, when they Rams were members of the Iowa Conference. Davidson is the first Ram to capture MWC gold since 1990 (Tony Every).
Davidson paced a strong team performance by coach Jerry Frawley’s Rams, who had four first-year runners earn all-MWC status by placing in the top 20. Cornell put seven runners in the top 30, the most of any team.
Freshman Gabe Soda took sixth overall out of 93 runners with a time of 27:09. Freshman Isaak Hutchings finished 11th in 27:21. Sophomore Emery Bird was 13th (27:22) in his MWC cross country debut. Freshman Caleb Schopen turned in Cornell’s fifth all-MWC performance in 19th (27:40).
Cornell’s five all-conference individuals tied the 2017 and 2018 teams for the most in a single meet.
Senior Peter Weber finished just outside the all-MWC cutoff in 22nd (28:15). Freshman Tyler Bilskie was 27th (28:34).
Lawrence put all five of its scorers in the top 15 to edge the Rams for the team crown. Grinnell took third with 63 points.
Cornell now turns its attention to the Midwest Region Championships Nov. 13 in Rock Island, Ill.