The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's cross country teams appeared ready in their final tune-up before the 2025 University Athletic Association Championship, with each squad placing first at the Inter-Regional Rumble, hosted by Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, on Saturday.

Besides the top team finishes, the Spartans also had a standout day on an individual level, recording a total of 21 season-best times on Saturday, including 15 marks that also stood as career-best times.

Women's Varsity Race

• The Spartans won the women's varsity race with a score of 76, finishing ahead of John Carroll (90), Centre (129), Washington & Jefferson (139), and RIT (160). A total of 25 teams scored in the women's varsity race on Saturday.

• First-year Halina Tompkins led the nine Spartan competitors in the varsity race, placing 10th overall out of 213 finishers. She completed the 6K course in a career-best time of 22:17.9. 

• Also recording a career-best time was first-year Francesca Taracila, who was 12th overall with a mark of 22:39.0. Senior Arianna Holbrook was the third Spartan to cross the finish line, placing 16th with a season-best time of 22:57.1.

• Completing the team's scorers were sophomore Becca Liaw, who was 21st with a career-best time of 23:11.7, and first-year Aditi Mukundhan, who was 22nd with a career-best time of 23:12.7. First-year Elena Von Handorf (23rd, 23:13.0) and sophomore Cecilia Postma (27th, 23:20.6) each notched career-best marks to round out the top-seven finishers for the Spartans in the varsity race.

• Also in action for CWRU on Saturday was first-year Reid Smith, who finished just behind Postma in 28th place with a career-best 6K time of 23:24.3, and senior Ayla Grabenbauer, who was 57th overall with a time of 24:18.7.

• Claire Anderson of Washington & Jefferson was the top overall finisher with a time of 21:17.8.

Men's Varsity Race

• The Spartans, ranked 27th in Division III, finished the meet with 84 points to take home the trophy, ahead of second-place RIT (95) and third-place Kenyon (109). Also finishing among the top-five teams were Baldwin Wallace (134) and John Carroll (184). A total of 26 teams scored in the men's race on Saturday.

• Junior Jacob Slater was second out of 227 total finishers in the 8K varsity race to lead the Spartans. His time of 25:14.4 was just 14.6 seconds behind the first-place finisher, unattached Charles Namoit (24:59.8). 

• Sophomore Adam Esa added a mark of 25:57.0 to notch a 13th-place finish. He was followed by first-year Jay Woodhouse, who recorded a career-best time of 26:03.0 to place 19th overall. 

• Graduate student Mike Lombardi was the fourth Spartan to cross the finish line, placing 24th in a time of 26:11.2, and sophomore Brendan Bradish completed the team's scorers, placing 31st with a mark of 26:25.8.

• First-year Jacob Porter finished 44th in a career-best time of 26:35.1, and senior Solomon Greene added a 57th-place finish in a time of 26:48.2 to complete the team's top-seven finishers.

• Also competing for the Spartans was first-year Kian Schneeweis, who was 120th overall with a time of 27:52.1.

Women's Open Race

• Three additional CWRU women ran in the women's open 6K race, not enough to register a team score.

• The team's top finisher was first-year Hannah Nevius, who was 34th out of 106 finishers with a career-best time of 27:17.3. 

• First-year Kasey Thomas added a career-best mark of 27:41.50 to place 41st overall. Running for the first time this season, senior Medha Patria added a 94th-place finish in the open race with a time of 31:27.1.

Men's Open Race

• Thirteen total Spartans competed in the men's open 8K race, leading the team to a first-place finish out of 17 scoring teams.

• CWRU secured two of the top three spots in the race, led by a second-place finish from first-year Tyler Ginther, who recorded a career-best time of 26:39.2, and a third-place finish from first-year Devin Montileone, who notched a mark of 27:00.2.

• Also scoring for CWRU in the open race were sophomore Adam Joseph (12th, 27:32.3), first-year Caleb Guarino (13th, 27:32.9), and first-year Lowell Copps (17th, 27:38.9). It marked a career-best time for both Guarino and Copps.

• Adding a career-best time of his own was first-year Chance Krenzer, who was 31st with a time of 28:21.1. Both sophomores Paul Salah (37th, 28:32.5) and George Wood-Leness (58th, 29:05.9) recorded their season-best 8K time during Saturday's race.

• Other Spartans in action in the men's open race included first-year Thijs Doot (19th, 27:45.2), sophomore Will Larson (30th, 28:19.1), senior Nathan Webb (59th, 29:07.7), junior Praveen Sureshkumar (75th, 29:30.7), and first-year Austin Schneidler (30:13.9).

Spartan Notes

• This was the first time the Spartans have competed at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble since the 2022 campaign, when the men placed second and the women sixth at the event. It was the first time that each team had won the meet since the 2018 season.

• In addition to the team's national ranking, the CWRU men were also ranked second in the Great Lakes Region entering the meet. The Spartan women entered Saturday's competition unranked nationally but ranked sixth in the region.

• Tompkins has been the top finisher for the Spartan women in all three races she has competed in this year. Slater has also been the top finisher in all three races he has competed in for the men's team this season.

• Tompkins' time on Saturday was the fastest 6K time this season by a CWRU woman.

Up Next

The Spartans will now turn their attention to the final stretch of their 2025 campaign. CWRU will begin its championship season in two weeks, traveling to Edwardsville, Illinois, for the 2025 UAA Championship, hosted by Washington University (Mo.), on Saturday, November 1.