Cornell senior Aaron Davidson raced his way safely to all-region status with a 25th-place effort at Saturday’s Midwest Region Men’s Cross Country Championships on Saukie Golf Course.
Davidson rose the occasion in a large field of 211 runners, clocking a personal-best 8K mark of 24:58. He was 15 seconds ahead of the all-region cutoff, and only two seconds outside the Top 20.
Davidson became Cornell’s first all-region men’s performer since 2018, when the Rams had three honorees. Davidson, the 2021 Midwest Conference champion, improved 30 places and shaved nearly two minutes from his regional race two years ago.
Davidson gave himself a chance for an at-large individual berth to the NCAA Division III Championships next weekend in Louisville, Ky. A complete list of qualifiers will be announced Sunday on NCAA.com.
The Rams finished 18th out of 30 teams with 517 points. Cornell claimed a point in the 2021-22 Bremner Cup All-Sports Series based on higher placement over Coe, which took 23rd with 675 points.
Freshman Gabe Soda ran well in his regional debut, placing 81st in a season-best 26:38. He trimmed 30 seconds off his time a month ago on the same course.
Sophomore Emery Bird finished 118th in 27:34. Freshman Isaak Hutchings was 141st in 28:01. Senior Peter Weber recorded Cornell’s fifth team score in 153rd place (28:14).
Rounding out Cornell’s performances was Luke Murray in 157th (28:30) and Gabe Hunt in 166th (28:48).
Wartburg ran away with the team title with 38 points and crowned the individual champion in Joe Freiburger (24:19).
Women’s XC
All seven Cornell women’s runners clocked personal-best times and helped the Rams claim a Bremner Cup point at Saturday’s Midwest Region Cross Country Championships on Saukie Golf Course.
Coach Jerry Frawley’s young Rams wound up 16th out of 24 teams with 417 points, marking the program’s lowest point total since 2016. Cornell was the top Midwest Conference finisher, beating MWC runner-up Grinnell by 37 points.
Cornell beat rival Coe in team scoring, giving the Rams a 5-4 lead in the 2021-22 Bremner Cup All-Sports Series.
Junior Billie Fogarty paced Cornell’s lineup with a lifetime-best six-kilometer mark of 23:23. She took 52nd out of 188 finishers, improving by 31 places from 2019 regionals.
Sophomore Jeanelle Jimenez and freshman Natalie Neuhaus also cracked the top 100 for the Rams. Jimenez ran 23:44 for 65th. Neuhaus finished 79th in 23:55.
Sophomore Michelle Nava (24:41) and freshman Sam See (25:30) turned in Cornell’s final two team scores, placing 110th and 128th, respectively. Miranda Hall was 157th (27:11), Annika Sutter 163rd (27:38).
Wartburg beat Wash U. for the team title, 34-43. Loras’ Kassie Rosenbum was crowned overall medalist with a time of 20:50.