Written by Ian Gillen
After a hard fought few weeks took the team to West Virginia and Blacksburg, our men’s and women’s cross-country teams are capitalizing on last year’s strong finish to start their seasons off on the right foot. Last season provided the teams with great promise and hope for the future, and the teams are still running hard in preparation for ODACs.
The teams first traveled to West Virginia Tech on Sept. 7, where each team had great finishes. Freshman Hannah Koepfinger was the fastest of the female runners, finishing twelfth among all runners. The Lady Maroons also had two runners in the top 25, with four runners finishing in the top 40. On the men’s side, the top runner saw an eighth overall finish, while two finished in the top 13, and four runners finished in the top 30.
The fantastic start to the year was followed up a week later with a trip to Blacksburg to compete in the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational. Each team finished second among Division III schools, and Chamberlain Zulauf finished first among D III runners, earning him ODAC Runner of the Week honors.
The team hopes to continue their great start next weekend when they travel to Lehigh University. Two weeks later will be their last tune-up before ODACs, which takes place on Oct. 27.
