Vanderbilt Cross Country traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to race the Harry Pritchett running course at the Crimson Classic on Oct. 17. Out of 22 women’s and 20 men’s squads, the Commodores placed fourth and fifth, respectively.  

“Both the men and women competeVd well this morning,” assistant coach Chad Balyo said. “Any time we compete at an SEC school and line up to have our student-athletes give their best effort of the season, we are moving in the right direction.”   

On the women’s side, graduate Tyla Lumley led the pack with a time of 19:59.3, good enough for an eighth-place finish, and sophomore Claire Petersen finished 10th with a time of 20:08.7.  Bria Bennis followed with a 15th overall finish at 20:21.1 and Lily Kriegel ran a 21:07.5 to finish 41st. True freshman Betsy Jepkemei made her Vanderbilt debut and finished with a time of 21:22.8 to round out scoring for the Commodores. The entire women’s 6-kilometer race featured 193 runners. 

On the men’s side, junior Luke Churchwell led the squad with a 17th place finish out of 189 runners in the 8-kilometer race. Churchwell, who ran a 24:28.8, has led the Commodores twice this season in placing. First-year Sam Darmanie ran a 25:03.2 to place fifth among freshman and 41st overall. Michael Skora finished third for Vanderbilt with a time of 25:07.7 to finish 45th overall, and juniors Brady Bliven and Mitchel Drees finished in the top 100 with times of 25:20.2 and 25:26.0, respectively. 

“We have trained since this summer to perform our best at SECs and NCAA Regionals. Both teams have positioned themselves well heading into championship racing, and we are very excited about the opportunities in front of us,” Balyo said. “The student-athletes are locked in and working to continue handling business.” 

The Crimson Classic concluded Vanderbilt’s regular season. It will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the SEC Championships on Oct. 31.