Despite the snow that had lingered on the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course earlier in the week, Virginia cross country raced on snow-free terrain in Madison, Wis. Saturday morning at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Cavalier men placed 14th while the women placed 21st, both one-spot improvements from last season.
The two races included standout performances from junior Gary Martin and senior Margot Appleton, who gained All-American Honors with respective 13th and 18th place finishes.
The women’s 6k race kicked off at 10:20 a.m. with a field of 255 runners. The placement in the first 1k would prove fortuitous for Appleton in 18th and Jenny Schilling in 52nd. By 2k, though, it seemed as though Appleton struggled to hold her position, drifting back to 44th as Schilling moved into 39th.
Appleton clearly did not want to continue this pattern and began what would become a 4k-long climb. At the halfway point, she had moved into 37th, passing a few runners, including Schilling, who had moved one place back into 44th.
With 2k remaining, Appleton cruised past another 11 runners and then another seven by the 5k point. Not ready to give up just yet, she passed one more runner, securing her place in 18th with a time of 19:51.0. Schilling continued to fall back a few places, finishing in 52nd with a time of 20:13.4.
Freshman Tatum David had a strong run and has already proved herself an integral part of the Virginia women’s team in her short time on Grounds, placing 112th in 20:37.6. Next came sophomore Gillian Bushee in 151st with a time of 20:49.6, then senior Camryn Menninger in 167th in 20:55.1.
The final two Cavaliers were sophomore Cate DeSousa and senior Sophie Atkinson in 191st and 196th, with a time of 21:07.2 for the former and 21:08.3 for the latter. In a mere 19:21, Alabama sophomore Doris Lemngole won the women’s race with a six-second lead over the runner-up, New Mexico freshman Pamela Kosgei.
Brigham Young claimed first place for the overall race, while Virginia’s women finished 14th, exceeding its No. 17 national ranking.
Just after 11 a.m., 255 more runners lined up at the start of the men’s 10k race. After the first 2k, Martin and junior Will Anthony were close together in 33rd and 35th —- but that would not last for long. Both runners had fallen back a few places 1k later, separating from each other. In the next 2k, Martin would begin a trajectory reminiscent of Appleton, moving from 40th into 17th at the 5k mark.
Martin continued to fight his way through a top pack of runners that formed and split away from the rest. With 3k to go, he had moved up into 11th place and then 10th with 2k remaining. Martin managed to hold a spot in 10th until just before the end of the race, finally ending in 13th with a time of 29:02.3.
Anthony appeared to have a difficult race, continuing to move further and further back as the race went on. In 29:58.4, Anthony finished his final race of the season in 109th.
Behind him came two more juniors, Justin Wachtel and Nathan Mountain, claiming times of 30:10.1 and 30:15.9 to place 140th and 152nd. Following them was senior Wes Porter in 178th in 30:31.0 and senior Jack Eliason in 179th in 30:31.2. Finishing up for the Cavaliers was junior Andrew Jones in 186th with a time of 30:37.1.
Harvard senior Graham Blanks won his second individual NCAA title in just 28:37.2, edging out New Mexico sophomore Habtom Samuel. Brigham Young earned the men’s title as well. Virginia placed 21st overall.
Overall, the Cavaliers had a good season, particularly Martin and Appleton, who have both shown resilience. Last year, Martin placed 219th, having dealt with sickness that prevented him from running for a week before regionals and nationals. Appleton dealt with injury at the beginning of this season, returning midway through the season and improving greatly from her 51st place finish at last year’s national race.
Both Virginia teams showed positive developments from last year and have earned some well deserved rest before the start of the 2024-25 indoor track season.
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