Cornell’s men raced against 22 other regionally-ranked cross country teams on a rain-soaked Saukie Golf Course at Saturday’s Augustana Interregional Invitational.
The Rams, rated No. 9 in the Midwest Region, received another strong individual effort by sophomore Isaac vanWestrienen and finished 26th in a loaded 43-team varsity division with 741 points.
VanWestrienen placed 26th out of a large pack of 453 runners. He crossed the finish line in 25:09, trimming 19 seconds off his previous personal record at the 8K distance.
Gabe Soda brought in Cornell’s second score, taking 184th overall in a season-best 26:31. Thomas Coble ran 208th (26:41), Gabe Hunt 215th (26:42) and Fisher Isaacson 220th (26:43) to round out Cornell’s scoring five.
Tyler Bilskie (27:30.1) and Caleb Schopen (27:30.2) finished 308th and 309th, respectively.
The varsity field featured 10 nationally-ranked teams, led by No. 1 North Central which claimed the team title with 60 points. Christian Patzka of UW-Whitewater won overall medalist honors in 24:19.
The Rams had nine runners compete in the open division, where they placed 23rd out of 34 teams.
Junior Ethyn Chesnut paced the Rams in 123rd place (27:55) out of 404 finishers. Cornell’s scorers included Isaak Hutchings in 166th (28:26), Tony Zamudio 192nd (28:43), Jaxon Barnes 226th (29:03) and Parker Voigt 240th (29:12).
Womens XC
In its final tune-up before the Midwest Conference Championships, Cornell’s women competed on the saturated trails of Saukie Golf Course at Saturday’s Augustana Interregional Invitational.
The Rams ran in the 22-team open division, placing ninth with 309 points.
Alyza Koppes was Cornell’s lead runner for the fourth time in as many meets, crossing 14th out of 181 finishers. The sophomore clocked a 6K mark of 24:30.
Junior Katie Lammers gave the Rams a boost in her return to the lineup. She took 44th in 25:32.
Elinor Ascher-Handlin placed 91st (27:15), Sophie Stumbo 105th (27:43) and Cari Pickup 129th (28:22) to complete Cornell’s scoring five.
Wash U. edged Chicago for the team title, 28-29.
Ram XC men 26th, Cornell women ninth at Rock Island
October 19, 2023