Vanderbilt Cross Country showed out for the second race of the season in Columbia, Missouri, at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 26. The men’s team finished in 12th place, while the women’s team landed in 24th.
The women’s team had its first opportunity to race against SEC rivals, as No. 6 Alabama, No. 12 Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Tennessee all competed in the 6-kilometer gold invitational race, in addition to six additional top-25-ranked teams. Sophomore Claire Petersen took the lead for the women’s team while transfer graduate Tyla Lumley made her first contribution to the women’s roster.
Petersen led the way, finishing 57th overall with a time of 20:23.8. Lumley finished next for the Commodores in 67th place, clocking a time of 20:29.6. Seasoned runner Lily Kriegel (20:46.3) and first-years Hannah Huyler (21:10.0) and Myrto Valacha (21:53.4) were also point scorers for this run.
The men’s team kicked things off on Friday with Georgia junior transfer Luke Churchwell taking the spotlight by finishing first on the men’s team in his Vanderbilt debut. Churchwell finished 45th overall in the men’s 8-kilometer black invitational race, securing his best personal time of 24:23.4 in the meet. At 24:29.4, first-year Sam Darmanie followed suit and crossed the finish line next for the ‘Dores. Solid performances were also seen from junior Brady Bliven (25:00.3), senior Dylan Ballard (25:02.9) and junior Brody Chapman (25:04.2).
After three well-deserved weeks off, the Commodores will be back for their next event at the Crimson Classic and 2025 XC Pre-Nationals on Friday, Oct. 17, and Saturday, Oct. 18.
