The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Pre-National Meet on Saturday morning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with the Spartan women finishing third overall and the 27th-ranked men placing fourth.

Women's Race

• The CWRU women's third-place finish came with a score of 113 points, as the Spartans finished behind just sixth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (22 points) and 15th-ranked Vassar (79 points). Finishing behind CWRU to complete the top five in the team standings were Wellesley (126 points) and Colby (136 points). A total of 11 women's teams were in action at the meet.

• Competing in the first 6K race of her collegiate career, first-year Halina Tompkins led the Spartans with a time of 22:30.9, placing 11th overall out of 105 finishers on Saturday.

• Another first-year runner, Francesca Taracila, was the second Spartan to cross the finish line, placing 16th overall with a time of 22:50.9.

• A pair of seniors followed, with Arianna Holbrook placing 26th overall with a time of 23:16.3 and Ayla Grabenbauer finishing 29th with a mark of 23:23.3. First-year Aditi Mukundhan completed the team's top-five finishers, placing 34th with a mark of 23:32.7.

• Sophomores Cecilia Postma and Becca Liaw rounded out the top-seven finishers for the Spartans, with Postma placing 40th with a time of 23:45.2 and Liaw coming in 43rd with a time of 23:53.3. Also in action on Saturday in the women's race for CWRU were sophomore Julia Walko (46th, 24:04.6) and senior Julia Hluck (56th, 24:38.5).

• The Spartans' third-place finish came despite senior and two-time All-American Lauren Iagnemma not competing in Saturday's race.

• Illinois Wesleyan's Adriana Crabtree won the women's 6K race with a time of 21:47.6.

Men's Race

• The Spartans scored 121 points to place fourth in the team standings behind sixth-ranked North Central (59 points), 17th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (63 points), and 18th-ranked Washington & Lee (82 points). Rounding out the top-five teams was Pfeiffer with 156 points. A total of 13 teams competed in the men's 8K race on Saturday.

• Junior Jacob Slater was the Spartans' top finisher for the second-straight race, placing fourth overall out of 132 finishers. His time of 24:48.7 was a 24.8-second improvement on his previous career-best time.

• Sophomore Donovan Crowley was the second CWRU runner to cross the finish line, completing the course in a time of 25:08.2 to place ninth overall. Completing the top-five for CWRU were sophomore Adam Esa, who was 31st with a mark of 25:49.1, sophomore Brendan Bradish, who was 40th with a mark of 26:19.4, and first-year Jay Woodhouse, who was 41st with a time of 26:20.5.

• Graduate student Michael Lombardi (43rd, 26:22.2) and first-year Kian Schneeweis (51st, 26:47.7) rounded out the top-seven finishers for CWRU. Also in action for the Spartans on Saturday were seniors Solomon Greene (61st, 26:58.5) and Matias Facchinato-Sitja (80th, 27:35.4).

• North Central's BJ Sorg was the top overall finisher, winning the race with a time of 24:29.5.

Spartan Notes

• The CWRU men entered the USTFCCCA Division III rankings for the first time this season this past week, after being unranked in the preseason poll. The Spartans were also ranked second in the Great Lakes Region, a four-team rise from their preseason regional ranking.

• While not nationally ranked, the Spartan women saw their regional ranking jump one spot from their preseason selection, as the team climbed to fifth in the Great Lakes Region this week.

• Three CWRU women (Postma, Liaw, and Walko) bested their previous career-best 6K times, and three men (Slater, Crowley, and Bradish) recorded career-best 8K times on Saturday.

• Saturday's race marked the first collegiate 6K for Tompkins, Taracila, and Mukundhan, and the first collegiate 8K race for Woodhouse and Schneeweis.

Up Next

CWRU will be off next weekend before returning to action on Saturday, October 4, at the Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational at the Moorehead Farm in New Concord, Ohio.