Mechanicsville, Va. – (November 2, 2024) – The 2024 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championship is in the books, as the Loyola Chicago Ramblers took the women's championship, while Massachusetts won the men's championship on Saturday at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va.
The women's championship race was first as Loyola Chicago won its third consecutive A-10 title with 36 points, followed by Massachusetts in second (113), George Mason in third (121), and La Salle in fourth (123). Fordham ended up with a score of 328 points, which was 13
th out of 15 teams.
La Salle's Gwenno Goode was the individual champion, finishing the 6K course in a winning time of 20:10.4. Right behind Goode was Fordham's
Katarina Birimac, who grabbed second overall in a time of 20:31.9 to earn All-Conference honors. She is only the fourth Fordham woman to earn All-Atlantic 10 honors in cross country, joining Claudine Kelly (1995), Brigid Moriarty (2008), and Angelina Grebe (2018). Her second place finish was also the highest-ever for a Fordham women's runner, besting Kelly's third place finish in 1995.
Aside from Birimac,
Sarah Zahaykevich was the next Ram across the finish line in 71
st (22:14.6), followed by
Kate Meeks in 87
th (22:38.4),
Sophia Viscon in 114
th (23:19.6), and
Megan McCann in 119
th (23:28.7). Other runners on Saturday for Fordham were
Sophia Oliva (122
nd – 23:38.8),
Lauren Raimy (124
th – 23:41.6),
Grace Kenny (127
th – 23:52.1), and
Brenna Sears (131
st – 24:10.6).
In the men's championship, Massachusetts dethroned Loyola Chicago as the Atlantic 10 champion, scoring 36 points to the Ramblers' 50. George Mason was third at 102 points with George Washington having 108 for fourth. Fordham scored 307 points for tenth place out of 15 teams.
La Salle's MacCallum Rowe made it an Explorers' sweep in the individual races, as he won the 8K race in 23:37.9, followed by Massachusetts' Robert Carew taking second in 23:44.4.
Fordham's top performer was
Nathan Bezuneh, who finished in 34
th place with a season-best time of 25:00.1, while
Sean Reidy finished 60
th overall in 25:22.4.
Rodolfo Sanchez was next over the line in 63
rd (25:25.0) with
Bradford Duchesne in 71
st (25:31.3) and
Darren Croke in 95
th (25:57.3). Other Rams in the field on Saturday were
Tadael Mihret (102
nd – 26:06.3),
Aidan Hickey (110
th – 26:20.0),
John Corrigan (111
th – 26:21.9),
Matthew Febles (117
th – 26:35.9), and
Lucas Rohde (128
th – 26:57.2).
Fordham will next be in action on Friday, November 15
th, at the NCAA Northeast Regional, which will be held at Hopkington Fairgrounds in Contoocook, N.H.
Gallery: (11-2-2024) #A10XC Championship
