Cross Country Finishes In Fourth Place At First Meet On Lions' Home Turf In Two Years

Upper West Side NY

13 October, 2021

12:02 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY ROBERT GAO OCTOBER 10, 2021 After almost a two year hiatus, Columbia cross country made its triumphant return to Van Cortlandt Park on Oct. 8 for the Metropolitan Cross Country Championships. The Lions claimed fourth place in both the women's and men's races and earned three individual top 10 finishes. In the women's 5K, the Light Blue's stellar performance was anchored by senior Delaney Sanacore, who earned sixth place, a career best, with a time of 19:47.6. At the previous Metropolitan Cross Country Championships in 2019, Sanacore set a personal record with a time of 19:26.0, but finished in 12th. The next member of the team to cross the line was sophomore Olivia Schmitt in 14th place, who ran a time of 20:23.0 in her first 5K as a Lion. Senior Alex Rodman finished in 51st place, while first-years Kate Kuwahara, Natalie Quintero, and Story Downing finished in 23rd, 31st, and 52nd, respectively. The Columbia men's team, running an 8K in the second race of the day, also prominently featured the team's younger runners. First-year Stephen Connelly crossed the line in seventh place with a time of 27:19.6, while sophomore Jacob Ireland finished in 27:19.9, just steps behind his teammate to claim eighth. Their top 10 finishes mark their first appearances in Ivy League competition, as well as their first 8K races. Rounding out the finishes for the Light Blue were sophomore Dominic Sobhani in 17th, senior Pat Bayeux in 30th, first-year Caleb Gartner in 33rd, and junior Lucas Aramburu in 37th. Similar to the last Mets Championships, the Lions hoped to use this race as a way for the underclassmen to gain experience. With that in mind, head coach Daniel Ireland said that he was happy with the efforts of his athletes, many of whom, as middle-distance runners, were running longer races than their specialties. This included four Lions who did not finish the men's 8K, dropping out after completing the first full loop of the course. Ireland also looked toward an important slate of races in the upcoming week. The women's team will travel to Madison, Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 15 after being invited on the merits of their three consecutive Ivy Leagues titles. Ireland said he hopes the team uses the Nuttycombe Invitational, one of the most important and competitive meets of the regular season, to earn at-large points toward qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The men's team will compete at the Princeton Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 16, where Ireland plans for his runners to gain good experience on the same course that will host the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships on Oct. 30. Staff writer Robert Gao can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @robertgao01. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.