HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Vanderbilt men’s and women’s cross country earned top 10 finishes at Jacksonville State’s (Ala.) Southern Showcase. Friday morning. The Vanderbilt men earned a ninth-place finish against 47 teams, including three SEC squads, behind a full-team effort where seven Dores turned in personal-best performances. Competing against 49 women’s squads, including five SEC opponents, the Commodores earned fifth place, with five student-athletes turning in personal bests.
For the second meet in a row, freshman Michael Skora paced the Dores, finishing 15th out of 454 runners and fifth among freshmen. He clocked 24:21.84 in his first 8-kilometer race. Freshman Mitchel Drees (25:15.14), sophomores Jackson Scruggs (25:21.04) and Brady Bliven (25:29.85) and senior Zach Hodges (25:26.88) added to Vandy’s scoring efforts.
Personal best performances came from sophomores Bliven, Drees, Patrick Ford (25:33.88) and Scruggs, juniors Dylan Ballard (27:51.08) and David Song (25:47.73) and Hodges.
In her collegiate cross country debut, sophomore Bria Bennis crossed the finish line in 16:56.16, earning eighth place out of 457 competitors. Per her athletic eligibility, she was the fourth freshman finisher. Following Bennis were graduate student Ellie Wolski (17:15.12) and senior Julia Rosenberg (17:18.03), who came in 21st and 25th, respectively. Junior Audrey Allman (17:34.29) and senior Cameron Fawcett (17:36.97) contributed to Vandy’s placement, both earning top 40 finishes.
On the women’s side, five Commodores recorded personal bests on the course, including freshman Lily Kriegel (17:43.11), sophomore Elsa Steer (18:27.90), junior Mackenzie Culpepper (18:23.52) and seniors Gigi Clifford (18:09.57) and Rosenberg.
Next up
The Commodores will head to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 4.
