NOTRE DAME, Ind. — At the 2023 Joe Piane Invitational, Vanderbilt women’s cross country finished eighth overall, and the men’s team placed 10th. On the women’s side, junior Julia Rosenberg finished first among teammates for the first time in her collegiate career. For the second week in a row, freshman Jack DesRoches was the first Commodore to finish in the men’s race.
Rosenberg, who finished 31st individually with a personal-best time of 17:19.8, led the Vanderbilt women’s cross country team to an eighth-place finish in the Blue Division. Compared to last year’s event, when one Commodore placed in the top 40, three Vandy student-athletes ranked among this year’s top-40 finishers. Ella Lambert (17:25.1) and Caroline Eck (17:25.9) were the 39th and 40th runners to cross the finish line. Vanderbilt’s additional scorers in the Blue Division included Lainey Phelps (52nd) and Audrey Allman (57th).
Rosenberg, Lambert, Phelps (17:34.8), Emma Curry (17:53.7), Ashlee Gallegos (18:06.3) and Gigi Clifford (18:23.2) recorded personal-best times on the course Friday.
In the Open 5K, Vanderbilt scorers Colette Kinsella, Jenna Holland, Elsa Steer, Clara Steer and Gia Leone combined for 121 points and earned a fourth-place finish. In her first race as a Commodore, freshman Kinsella placed first among Vandy student-athletes and 13th overall in the division, turning in a time of 17:56.3.
DesRoches finished 18th in the men’s race with a time of 24:45.7, helping the team place 10th in the Gold Division. Andrew Pahnke was Vandy’s second student-athlete to finish, recording a time of 25:03.6. Brady Bliven (58th), Dylan Ballard (60th) and Jackson Scruggs (71st) rounded out the team’s top-five finishers.
David Song’s time of 26:57.3 in the men’s Open 5-mile race was a personal best.
Up Next
The Vanderbilt women’s cross country team will compete in one more regular-season meet, the XC23 Invitational, on Oct. 14 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The men’s and women’s SEC Cross Country Championships are Oct. 27 in Columbia, South Carolina.
