Cornell’s Aaron Davidson ran the fastest 8K time of his distinguished career, placing sixth against elite competition at Saturday’s Dan Huston Invitational on Max Championship Cross Country Course.
Davidson guided the No. 10 regionally-ranked Rams to fourth place in the six-team field with 100 points.
No. 4 nationally-ranked Wartburg posted a winning score of 29 points, followed by 11th-ranked Wash U. with 41.
Davidson finished ahead of 118 runners, clocking a quick mark of 24:49. He topped his previous personal-best time, set at regionals last fall.
The Rams landed three other runners inside the top 50, including freshman Thomas Coble in 40th with a time of 26:18. Sophomores Gabe Soda (26:30) and Caleb Schopen (26:39) finished 43rd and 46th, respectively.
Isaak Hutchings brought in Cornell’s fifth score, taking 68th (27:35). The next wave of Rams featured Fisher Isaacson in 73rd (27:46), Tyler Bilskie 76th (28:05), Brodie Callahan 81st (28:12), Gabe Hunt 83rd (28:31) and Ethyn Chesnut 84th (28:38).
Wartburg’s Christopher Collet won individual medalist honors in 24:10.
Women’s XC
Cornell’s entire women’s cross country lineup ran season-best 6K times Saturday morning at Wartburg’s Dan Huston Invitational, which featured a pair of Top 10 nationally-ranked teams.
Freshman Alyza Koppes paced the young Rams, crossing the line 49th out of 78 finishers. She was clocked in 25:57.
Junior first-year transfer Carly Small finished 51st in 26:25. Sophomore Elinor Ascher-Handlin took 58th (27:47). She was followed by freshman Grace Parises in 67th (29:00) and senior Annika Sutter in 70th (29:20) to round out Cornell’s point scorers.
The Rams totaled 138 points for fifth place in the six-team field. Second-ranked Wartburg outdistanced sixth-ranked Wash U for the team title, 21-34.
Wartburg’s Aubrie Fisher was crowned individual champion in 21:29.
Coming up – Cornell competes Oct. 15 at the Augustana Invitational in Rock Island, Ill.