COLUMBIA, Mo. — Vanderbilt cross country wrapped up competition at the 2026 SEC Cross Country Championships hosted by Missouri as the women secured an eighth-place finish with 207 points and the men ended in 13th with 320 points at Gans Creek Cross Country Course on Friday.
"The women did a very good job today," director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas said. "In the six cross country seasons that I've been here, this is the most compact running we've had from top to bottom. It was very exciting to see the freshmen compete the way that they did, especially Maggie (Jebitok). We've started to see that every year, the freshmen are learning from the previous freshmen, sophomores and juniors how to compete in this conference, which is very important."
Junior Lily Kriegel led the Dores in the women's 6-kilometer run with a 30th overall finish, producing a time of 19:57.9. Jebitok followed just behind, placing 34th in 20:06.8. Jebitok ended the race as one of the top seven freshmen, earning her SEC All-Freshman honors. She is the first freshman to achieve All-Freshman recognition since Cameron Fawcett in 2021 and is just the 13th runner to do so in women's program history.
Juniors Claire Peterson and Bria Bennis claimed the final two top-50 positions for Vanderbilt, as Peterson ended the contest in 43rd with a time of 20:18.6 while Bennis crossed the line in 50th at 20:28.1. The sophomore trio of Betsy Jepkemei, Myrto Valacha and Hannah Huyler grouped together in the top-75: Jepkemei placed 54th with a time of 20:35.2, Valacha secured a 20:37.7 time and 59th-place finish and Huyler ended 61st with a 20:39.6 final time. Freshmen Claire Guiberson, Ella Morgannam and and Carolina Areheart rounded out the Commodores in 80th, 85th and 121st, respectively.
"I mean, I can't say it enough, the ladies competed today," Thomas said. "They competed within themselves, they competed amongst each other, where you saw packs of running, and they competed against the SEC. Lily has just developed year after year, and it was great to see her race the way she did today, bringing her teammates along in the competition. And then having seniors, like Bria, show up and fight - she's always been a staple in our program. So, altogether, the ladies did a great job, every single one of them, of putting their stamp on what it means to be a Commodore."
For the men's 8-kilometer race, Vanderbilt had its top three runners place within four spots of one another: Junior Michael Skora finished 56th in 24:12.1, senior Luke Churchwell took 57th with a time of 24:12.7 and in 59th was sophomore Sam Darmanie at the 24:14.7 mark. junior Jackson Scruggs placed 91st, followed by sophomore Finn Richards in 92nd and freshman Mark Meister in 96th; they posted times of 25:31.5, 25:34.9 and 25:53.3, respectively.
"It's always a transition when you watch the women in the 6K race and then you watch the men in the 8K; it is just such a courageous race with that extended distance," Thomas said. And again, you saw our guys competing. We saw our guys banding together as a team, which is exactly what Coach (Lisa) Morgan and Coach (Chad) Balyo talked to them about. We saw a great race out of Sam, who, in his second time around at the SEC meet, finished in there with the upperclassmen of Michael and Luke. The group as a whole, it was great to see them continue to fight in their positions. It's just very hopeful for the future - culturally, physically and emotionally.
"It was great to see both teams compete today, really excited to see both of the programs at regionals in two weeks," Thomas concluded. "I'm excited to see how the teams build on this and how every race they've had so far has helped them to build to this moment.
Next up, the Commodores are set to travel to Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida for the NCAA South Regional Championships on Nov. 13.