COLUMBIA, Mo. — Junior Luke Churchwell and sophomore Claire Petersen led the Vanderbilt men’s and women’s cross country teams to 12th and 24th-place respective finishes Friday morning at the Gans Creek Classic.
The Commodore women had their first opportunity to race against SEC foes No. 6 Alabama, No. 12 Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Tennessee, as well as six additional top-25-ranked teams in the 6-kilometer gold invitational race.
Petersen led the way for the women’s team, clocking 20:23.8, good for 57th overall. Graduate student Tyla Lumley was the second Commodore finisher and 67th overall with a time of 20:29.6. Sophomore Lily Kriegel (20:46.3) and freshmen Hannah Huyler (21:10.0) and Myrto Valacha (21:53.4) also scored points for Vanderbilt.
Churchwell was Vandy’s top finisher and 45th overall in the men’s 8-kilometer black invitational race. His time of 24:23.4 is a personal best. Freshman Sam Darmanie crossed the finish line next for the Dores, clocking 24:29.4. Additional scorers for the men’s team included junior Brady Bliven (25:00.3), senior Dylan Ballard (25:02.9) and junior Brody Chapman (25:04.2).
The Commodores have three weeks off before the compete at the Crimson Classic on Oct. 17 and 2025 XC Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18, which will also be at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
