KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt cross country ended competition at the 2025 SEC Cross Country Championships with the men placing 14th and the women finishing 10th at Cherokee Farms Cross Country Course on Friday.
“Today gave us a glimpse into our immediate future,” director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas said. “The SEC Championship is the first of three postseason meets, and the team competed hard and showed a lot of heart out there. Luke (Churchwell), Tyla (Lumley) and Bria (Bennis) showed tremendous leadership as upperclassman and experienced runners. Their daily professionalism motivates the team, and we saw that in how everyone competed from the start of the race.”
Junior Luke Churchwell led the Commodore men for the third time this season, finishing 59th overall with a time of 24:43.19 in the 8-kilometer race. Junior Brady Bliven registered a time of 25:48.18 and ended in the 91st position, marking the first time he has scored in the No. 2 spot for Vanderbilt this season. Following just behind was sophomore Michael Skora in 92nd with a time of 25:50.43, while freshman Sam Darmanie secured 96th with a time of 25:58.63. Rounding out scoring for the black and gold was freshman Finn Richards (26:03.05).
In the women’s 6-kilometer race, graduate student Tyla Lumley led the Vandy pack for the second meet in a row at No. 35 with a time of 20:56.86. In 37th place was junior Bria Bennis, who turned in a time of 20:59.92. Sophomore Lily Kriegel was the third Dore to cross the line at the 21:09.11 mark, good for 47th place. Four spots behind in 51st finished sophomore Claire Petersen, clocking a time of 21:15.12. Freshman Myrto Valacha also scored for Vanderbilt with a time of 22:31.96
“We’ve got a few things to sharpen up, but I really like where we’re at,” Thomas said. “The best is definitely still to come. Our eyes are set on regionals in two weeks”
The Commodores are set to travel to the John Hunt Cross Country Course in Huntsville, Alabama, for the NCAA South Region Championships on Nov. 14.
