Vanderbilt Cross Country began its 2024 season on Friday morning at Percy Warner Park at the Belmont Opener. After both Vanderbilt teams finished second in last season’s meet, the Commodores faced Austin Peay, Belmont, Lipscomb, Tennessee Tech and Western Kentucky in a five-kilometer race with the hopes of improving.

The Commodores’ performance was on par with past showings at this meet. The women’s team claimed first place (as it did in 2022) and the men’s team finished second behind Belmont, same as the past two years.

Senior Cameron Fawcett lead the women’s team, finishing second overall with a time of 18:08.75. First-year Lily Kriegel came in at 18:14.11, finishing close behind Fawcett in third. The women’s success continued with the other three scoring runners all finishing in the top 12. On top of that, the four non-scoring Commodores also placed within the top 20.

First-year Michael Skora led the men. Skora finished first in the race with a quick time of 15:11.79. The next Commodores to finish were Mitchel Drees (15:42.37), Jackson Scruggs (15:44.28), Brady Bliven (15:44.97) and David Song (15:47.26). The group paced off of each other, all finishing within five seconds.

Under the leadership of fourth-year director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas, Vanderbilt started the season off well. The Vanderbilt women and men ranked 13th and 14th in the South Region, respectively, according to a preseason poll by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. At the Belmont Opener, both teams finished ahead of Lipscomb, which ranked fourth (women’s) and sixth (men’s) in the same poll. Similarly, the Vanderbilt women finished ahead of Belmont, ranked seventh in the same poll.

Next, the Commodores will compete in the Southern Showcase, hosted by Jacksonville State on Sept. 13.