Vanderbilt Cross Country competed in its last meet of the season on Nov. 15 in Tallahassee, Florida, at the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships. The women’s team improved to 9th from last year’s 12th-place finish in the 6k, while the men finished last in the 10k for the second year in a row.
Fourth-year head coach Althea Thomas and her Commodores certainly saw their ups and downs throughout the season.
Both the women’s and men’s seasons started out strong, flashing potential with first and second-place finishes at the Belmont Opener, respectively. Senior Cameron Fawcett led the women’s team over the finish line in second place with a time of 18 minutes and 8.75 seconds. Also with a podium finish was first-year Lily Kriegel (18:14.11), nabbing the bronze spot. Seven other runners finished in the top 20.
On the men’s side of the meet, first-year Michael Skora (15:11.79) won his inaugural collegiate race; he continued to top the timing sheet for the Commodores in every meet of the season. Fellow first-year Mitchel Drees (15:42.37) and sophomore Jackson Scruggs (15:44.28) followed shortly behind. The trio finished in the same order at the Southern Showcase.
Sophomore Bria Bennis shined on the women’s side at the Southern Showcase, crossing the line in eighth in only her second meet with the cross country team; last season, the Commodore only participated in outdoor track and field. Senior Julia Rosenberg and graduate student Ellie Wolski alternated in leading Vanderbilt in the remaining meets of the season. First-year Claire Petersen made her debut at the Joe Piane Invitational; though the women had their lowest finish of the year in South Bend, Indiana, at 11th overall, that marked their only overall result outside the top 10 through the whole season.
The men dropped on the timing sheets at the Joe Piane Invitational and the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, finishing in 12th and 19th, respectively. Sophomore Brady Bliven finished behind Skora in both meets, also doing so in the final two meets of the season, with Drees consistently clocking in at the third spot for the Commodores. The women, though, saw a third-place finish in Wisconsin, keeping a good pace. Rosenberg, Wolski and junior Audrey Allman rounded out the top three for the Black and Gold.
Two weeks later, Vanderbilt traveled to College Station, Texas, to compete in the SEC Championships. The women nabbed a top-10 finish in 9th, while the men finished in the penultimate spot at 13th. Despite the overall result, six Commodores — Wolski, Skora, Bliven, Drees, Scruggs and junior Dylan Ballard — recorded personal-best times.
The Commodores traveled to the NCAA South Region Championships looking to end the season with a strong result.
Rosenberg led the women in Tallahassee, clocking in with a 20:44.0 to finish in 38th. Right behind her was Wolski, who finished just 0.7 seconds later. Petersen rounded out the top three, finishing in 51st with a 21:01.8 and securing 9th place among first-years.
Skora topped the time charts for the men, recording a 31:47.6 in his first collegiate 10k race; his time garnered him 68th overall but a spot in the top 15 among first-years. Sophomores Brady Bliven (31:54.7), Mitchel Drees (32:17.6) and Patrick Ford (32:32.0) followed, all achieving personal-best times to close out the season.
The women’s team concluded the season with three top-five finishes in six meets, while the men failed to capitalize on their second-place result in the opening meet of the season. The Commodores’ potential for next year is clear — despite the slow in momentum to end the season — especially with young stars in Skora and Petersen, who are sure to make an impact.
