Cornell’s depth and talent were on full display Friday night at the season-opening Corridor Classic.
Coach Jerry Frawley’s No. 8 regionally-ranked Rams claimed the men’s team title and crowned the overall individual champion in Isaac vanWestrienen at Seminole Valley Park.
VanWestrienen dominated his first cross country race as a Ram, running away with the victory by 19 seconds over his nearest challenger. The impressive sophomore transfer covered the 5-kilometer course in 15:11. VanWestrienen beat 94 competitors.
The Rams placed eight runners inside the top 30 and captured the team crown by a convincing 36-50 margin over NAIA’s William Penn. It was Cornell’s first team title at this meet since 2018.
The Rams received top-10 finishes from the junior trio of Fisher Isaacson (fourth, 15:47), Gabe Soda (seventh, 15:53) and Tyler Bilskie (10th, 15:58). Sophomore Thomas Coble turned in Cornell’s fifth score, placing 14th in 16:20.
Gabe Hunt crossed in 20th place (16:32), Caleb Schopen 23rd (16:36) and Brodie Callahan 28th (16:53) for a deep lineup that will be a factor all season.
Isaak Hutchings (17:22) and William Sotomayor (17:25) placed 39th and 40th, respectively.
Women’s results
Cornell’s Alyza Koppes turned in a stellar sophomore season debut Friday night, taking second out of 71 women’s cross country competitors at the Corridor Classic.
Koppes raced to the front of the lead pack early and was among only two finishers to break 20 minutes for the 5-kilometer distance at Seminole Valley Park. She crossed the line in 19:58.8, 10 seconds behind overall champion Aisha Ramone of Southeastern Community College.
Koppes recorded Cornell’s highest individual showing at this season-opening meet since 2017, when MariKate Murphy won it.
Cornell’s next three scores came from promising first-year runners. Zoe Peesel (22:32.6) and Sophie Stumbo (22:32.9) placed 33rd and 34th, respectively, while Murray Page was 45th (23:05).
Junior Elinor Ascher-Handlin brought in the team’s fifth score, finishing 51st in 24:11.
The Rams, who held out junior front runner Katie Lammers, placed fourth in the nine-team field with 134 points. Host Mount Mercy won the team title with 30 points.
Rounding out Cornell’s lineup was Cari Pickup in 54th (25:22), Grace Parises 58th (26:06), Ashley Olvera 59th (26:09) and Isabella Anderson 60th (26:29).