Last Friday afternoon, the men and women of the Hopkins cross country teams took their annual trip to New York for the Iona Meet of Champions held at Van Cortlandt Park.
Any high school or collegiate cross country runner is familiar with the gravel trails that run up and down the rolling hills of the Bronx. It is the premier course in the sport, and runners enjoy the excitement that comes with racing it.
“It was the first real meet of the season, so the main expectation was for everyone to enjoy the race atmosphere with the team and leave feeling like we put in our best efforts,” junior Ellie Clawson said.
The top-ranked Hopkins women toed the line with five D-I opponents, including the Columbia University Lions and host team Iona College Gaels.
Clawson led the way for the Blue Jays, finishing the 5K course in 18:47, which allowed her to rank fifth overall. Close behind were sophomore Rebecca Grusby, freshman Therese Olshanski and senior Caroline Smith.
In tune with their traditional style of pack-running, the top four Blue Jays finished within eight seconds of each other, not allowing a single runner to cross the line in between them.
The Jays crossed the line taking fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth overall. Junior Tasha Freed rounded out the scoring for the Jays, finishing 14th in the field.
The women took the team title with just 34 points against tough D-I competition. The Lions took second with 62 points, and the Gaels claimed third with 74 points.
Clawson explained what the team’s goals are as the 2017 season progresses.
“To improve from last year and keep Hop on top when it comes to Nationals,” Clawson said. “The most important goals, however, are everything it takes to be successful — having positive attitudes everyday and staying excited even on the toughest days, supporting each other, staying healthy and staying unified as a team.”
If the first two meets of the season, both of which the Jays won by sizable margins, are any indication, the Hopkins women are likely to have another successful campaign and propel themselves into the postseason.
Not to mention, the women are also returning six of their top seven runners from last year’s National Championship team, including All-Americans junior Felicia Koerner and junior Natalia LaSpada, who did not race this past weekend, and last year’s Centennial Conference Rookie of the year, sophomore Rebecca Grusby.
Meanwhile, the Hopkins men put on an equally impressive performance at Van Cortlandt, finishing fourth overall and outscoring all the other D-III teams in the race. In front of the Jays were three D-I teams: Columbia, Arkansas and Iona.
Despite the tough competition, the fifth-ranked Jays managed to have their first four runners place in the top 26.
Senior Panth Patel led the Jays with a 20th-place finish, completing the 8K course in 26:48. Not far behind were junior Scott Pourshalchi, junior Ollie Hickson and freshman Conner Delahanty, who finished 22nd, 24th and 26th, respectively.
The top five Jays to cross the line were separated by less than 25 seconds, and two of the Jays’ top five runners were freshman competing in the first big race of their collegiate cross country careers.
The Blue Jays will toe the line again next Friday, Sept. 29 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
