Cross Country Season Comes to a Close
BRONX, N.Y. – Colgate cross country wrapped up the first full season of the Chelsea France era on Friday, with the men's team finishing 31st out of 37 teams while the women placed 33rd in the NCAA Regional race at Van Cortlandt Park.
"This season was a great step for the program, and today was a great way to close a phenomenal year," France said. "I tell this group all the time how proud I am and that they are raising the bar for the Colgate cross country program, and today was a testament to that. I'm excited to witness what these next few years will bring for such a great young group of men and women."
On the men's side, their 31st-place finish is the highest a Colgate team has ranked at an NCAA Regional race since 2018. The men also accumulated the lowest point total (833) for the program since 2012, when the Raiders placed 29th with 805 points.
All-Patriot League academic selection Owen Holland was the first finisher for the Colgate men, running a 31:48.5 in the 10k race. Andrew McGraw (32:22.5) and Owen McMorrow (32:37.9) were just behind Holland in 163rd and 174th place, respectively.
John Griffith and Dakin Ebmeyer rounded out the top 200 with times of 32:57.6 and 33:04.2.
The best finish at the NCAA Regional race in two years for the women's side was highlighted by first-year Audrey Luell's 22:28.8 time, the fastest by a Raider runner on the day. In her final race donning marron and white, senior Carollin Mellin ran a 22:33.1, good for 164th place. Grace Myers also finished inside the top 200 for Colgate with a 192nd-place spot, running a 23:03.1.
The Raiders' distance runners will now enter the indoor track season set to kick off in early December.