Men and women’s cross country both finished second at the University Athletic Association Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27. There were eighth teams competing in Rochester, N.Y. including Washington University in St. Louis, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Chicago.
Men’s cross country placed second with 60 points, eight points behind Washington University, which finished with 52 points. The Violets’ top five finishers’ times amounted to 2:07:51.9 while the Bears had a combined 2:07:41.1. The Carnegie Mellon Tartans had a time of 2:08:06.1 for third place.
In the most recent U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National College Athletics Association D-III Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, NYU was ranked 12th and Washington University was ranked 10th.
NYU has placed second at the UAA Championships for the past three years. Previously, the team had finished first from 2006-2009.
Senior captain Dylan Karten had the best time for the Violets, finishing in second place overall. Karten finished the 8K race with a time of 25:14.0. In total, there were 78 runners.
“I was thrilled with my race,” Karten said. “Everything just clicked from start to finish, and I was able to move up the entire time.
The winner of the race was Kevin Spark of Washington University who had a finish time of 25:02.5.
Along with Karten, senior Kevin Bonilla and sophomore Sebatien Oja finished in the top 10. Bonilla came in seventh with a time 25:26.4 with Oja following closely behind in eighth with a time of 25:28.0.
The last two point scorers for NYU were junior Ross Wistar and senior Dave Knowles. Wistar finished 21st (25:51.5) and Knowles came in 22nd (25:51.9).
“Hopefully we can learn from UAAs and sharpen our legs a bit to put a strong pack in the field at Regionals,” Karten said. “On our best day, we have a shot at cracking the podium at NCAAs.”
NYU women’s cross country finished second with a total team score of 96 points and time of 1:54:47.9. The University of Chicago finished well ahead of the rest, with 37 points, and a time of 1:52:44.3. All five of the Maroons’ point-scorers were in the top 20, with four finishing in the top 10. In third place, Carnegie Mellon had a total time of 1:55:07.5 for 103 points.
In the latest USTFCCCA NCAA D-III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, NYU was named 16th.
NYU’s top finisher was junior Emily Cousens, who came in fourth of 77 runners with a time of 22:22.1.
Sophomore Lucy Cheadle of Washington University won the 6K race with a time of 21:26.8.
Juniors Kristen Keller and captain Georgina Norton had decent finishes in the top 25. Keller came in 12th with a time of 22:46.4 while Norton finished 23rd with a time of 23:08.0.
Freshman Lily Corsaro has a great race, finishing in 22:57.6 for 18th place. The final point scorer for NYU was Alyssa Binczyk who placed 42nd with a time of 23:33.6.
“It required a hard solid effort from everyone and we all stepped up, especially Emily with her fourth-place finish and Lily competing in her first UAA’s as a freshman,” Norton said.
“It has set us up well for Regionals, and we are confident and excited moving forward in the post season,” she added.
The Violets return in two weeks for the NCAA Regional Championships in Rochester, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 10.
Mary Jane Dumankaya is deputy sports editor. Email her at [email protected].