D3 Pre Nats and Paul Short Recap
As the sun set over the proverbial Indiana corn fields, a fiery orange hue glowed over the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course and its rolling hills. Cross Country Town, USA stirred with excitement in anticipation of the 2024 D3 Pre-Nationals Meet. When the final glimpses of daylight faded below the horizon and all that was left to illuminate our custom D3 Glory Days tees were iPhone flashlights, the action was just moments from unfolding. A shot rang out in the darkness, and the race was underway.
D3 Glory Days was awarded a special opportunity to partner with this year’s Pre-National meet to bring you extended coverage, exclusive podcast and video interviews, professional videography and photography against a custom D3GD backdrop, and seriously cool swag. I mean, what other division can say they got t-shirts with cows, corn, and porta-potties on them, team champion flags, top-25 individual finisher crewneck sweatshirts, and free Nike x D3GD stickers?
The hype surrounding this meet that hosts Rose-Hulman worked with us to create reminded us all how fun the sport of cross country can truly be. In the wake of events like the recent ATHLOS meet in NYC, which worked to revolutionize both the athlete and fan experience at a track meet, it was incredibly special to bring a positive and memorable experience to all those who traveled from around the country to participate.
Friday marked the first time in 12 years that Terre Haute hosted the pre-national meet (the last of which produced a victor in a young Noah Droddy, which he will be sure to remind you), and just last Thursday, the NCAA announced Terre Haute as the 2027 cross country national host city. Though the coveted pre-national meet will alternate hosts based on the national hosts each year, there’s a hope that the LaVern-Gibson-Friday-night-under-the-lights-with-D3-Glory-Days extravaganza can happen every year.
After all, even though the meet results were all-around impressive, leaving us super excited for what’s to come at the national meet, it was the memories created off the course that felt the most meaningful. We hope that you all will agree.
Here’s what we got to witness at D3 Pre-Nats this weekend.
Views from the gator
I (Stu) had the unique experience of riding in the gator for both races. The women brought the energy early. As we drove past the start, every team began cheering - ready to take on the night. The heavy hitters established themselves early, and there was a good pack of about 12 women right away. This pack was full of contenders and All-Americans, and to see them group up proved to me they were ready to compete. They didn’t wait for someone to make a move to make it honest, it was honest by the time they hit the 1k mark.
There was something different about being so close to the moves being made. Every time Riley Buese, Faith Duncan or Kenzie Seymour made a move, the other two countered right back. They just looked like they were flying through the turns and inclines that the LaVern Gibson course offered.
When Duncan kept hammering at the front, you could just tell she was really feeling good. Move after move, she finally broke free and got to enjoy just about a mile of running alone. Her stride never broke and her aerobic engine kept her motoring along. Without seeing how the rest of the country fared, I walked away very impressed with this field and believe Duncan will look to add another national title to her resume.
Women’s team results
In the end, both Duncan and team champions MIT won by a landslide. Duncan, the surprise outdoor 5k national champion known for her bright green racing hat and somewhat unconventional training background in triathlons, gapped the field by a full 23 seconds to win in an impressive time of 21:02, adding to her so-far-perfect winning streak this year. In fact, Duncan hasn’t lost a college race since she ran an 800 in April, presumably for training purposes, showing that the Wilmington standout has perfected a valuable skill: she knows how to compete. It forces us to beg the question: is Duncan the current favorite for the national title in November?
To win, she’ll have to beat Chicago’s Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel, who did not race this weekend despite her team being in attendance, RPI’s Jules Bleskoski, who won Paul Short, Carleton’s Hannah Preisser, who won Running of the Cows, and several more top contenders. If Duncan keeps running as she has been, however, she will be a strong force to take down.
MIT women also proved this weekend that they are a force to be reckoned with and perhaps even a favorite contender for the national title trophy. They easily took down one of the nation’s top teams in UChicago, winning by a massive 89 points. Chicago ran without low stick Battleson-Gunkel, but even after factoring in a supposed top finish from Battleson-Gunkel to replace their fifth’s score of 45, MIT still would have come out victorious by almost 50 points.
Led by low sticks Kate Sanderson and Lexi Fernandez, who both posted top-ten finishes, MIT boasted a 1-5 split of just 35 seconds. They showcased great depth as well, with runners six and seven within 14 seconds away of their fifth, and all ten of their varsity members finishing well under 23 minutes. Such depth could be the key to success in November if other top contenders UChicago, NYU, Amherst, Emory, and Colorado College show any vulnerabilities.
Other impressive Pre-Nats performances from Friday include No. 15 DePauw women taking down No. 10 WashU, No. 24 Connecticut College taking down No. 20 Wesleyan and No. 21 George Fox, and unranked Pomona-Pitzer finishing sixth to beat four ranked teams.
On the individual front, UC Santa Cruz’s Kenzie Seymour impressed with her runner-up finish to Duncan after finishing as the third D3 athlete at UCR two weekends ago. She was 208th at nationals last year. Aurora’s Deyanneira Colon Maldonado finished in fourth ahead of several of the athletes who beat her last year at nationals when she posted a 29th-place All-American finish. She will be one to watch for in the top ten this year. Wesleyan’s Stephanie Ager placed fifth, ahead of Lewis & Clark’s Riley Buese, to follow up her first place finish at home two weeks ago over Vassar 1500m national champion Haley Schoenegge. Now having beat two big contender names, Ager has solidified herself as a top contender as well.
The fun part of being asked to come to this meet was coming up with Top 25 awards and team awards. Despite having just finished a race, many of the top 25 were excited to get a sweatshirt, and only a few seemed confused.
Thank goodness for live results to help give out the awards because things get hectic in the finishing chute as runners cross the finish line. We were able to break the news to MIT that they won, and their reaction was priceless. They were so fired up and began cheering immediately. That was a lot of fun to be a part of.
Women’s team results:
No. 4 MIT
No. 2 UChicago
No. 15 DePauw
No. 10 WashU
No. 24 Conn College
NR Pomona-Pitzer
No. 29 UC Santa Cruz
No. 20 Wesleyan
No. 21 George Fox
NR UW-Whitewater
Women’s Individual Results:
Faith Duncan - Wilmington
Kenzie Seymour - UC Santa Cruz
Kate Sanderson - MIT
Deyanneira Colon Maldonado - Aurora
Stephanie Ager - Weselyan
Riley Buese - Lewis and Clark
Rachel Brennan - Gordon
Paige Anderson - Kalamazoo
Breanna Schmitt - George Fox
Lexi Fernandez - MIT
Views from the gator
As the final finishers trickled in, the lead gator high-tailed it the 400 meters back to the start line, dodging men’s race athletes completing their final strides. The 8,000 meters laid out before them would produce some exciting results.
After the long opening stretch, Quinn White from Pomona-Pitzer emerged as the leader and was well in front of the rest of the pack. It was cool to see the pack realize what he was doing and slowly reel him back in. By about 3k, the group had caught him and the race was on. At that point, the group had trickled down to about 10ish runners. Peter LaRochelle took his turn at the front to hammer, trying to break away into the night. At one point, I thought they had put enough distance on Christian Patzka to potentially gap him, but he was able to recover and catch back up. As they repeated the long straightaway heading into the 5k, only three guys remained: Patzka, Gunner Schlender, and Cameron Hatler.
As we covered the course, Coach Mills from Whitewater was giving cues out to his top dogs and gave them the OK to start moving. After the downhill around the 5k mark, Schlender made a hard move for glory. There was a point where the two Warhawks pulled even with each other and I thought that was how they were going to finish. But it was Schlender’s time to shine. I believe they proved they have a very legitimate chance and opportunity to go 1-2 at the national meet.
Men’s team results
Though the overhead announcer was praising Patzka as the apparent winner, it was in fact his Whitewater teammate, Schlender, who stormed up the homestretch victorious raising his undefeated season streak to two following his win at the Tom Hoffman Invitational two weekends ago. Patzka trailed behind several seconds to take runner-up. These two athletes showed that they are in great form, and their battle at Pre-Nats could have even been a preview of what could happen at nationals. With names like Chasen Hunt, Grant and Aidan Matthai, Nathan Tassey, Emerald Svienty, Emmanuel LeBlond, Mohammed Bati, and more, it’s hard to say who will emerge the victor in just over one month’s time.
Behind Patzka, Pomona-Pitzer’s Hatler, who apparently shared a moment of contact with Schlender seconds earlier, came in third. In what was maybe the most exciting finish of the evening, Whitewater’s Dan Anderson sprinted into fourth to give the Warhawks a 1-2-4 punch.
Not even three in the top four was enough to overtake the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, however, as their depth shone brightly with six of their athletes crossing the line before Whitewater’s fourth finisher. Their final score of 65 bested Whitewater by 17 points. Depth is clearly the Sagehens’ secret weapon this year, and it was great to see what they could do with it on the grass against another top team in the nation such as Whitewater. They will have to outmatch the rivaled depth of favorites UW-La Crosse, however, should they want to defend their national title victory from last year.
Also impressing the field on Friday was the No. 14 team from George Fox, who overtook No. 12 MIT for third place, No. 30 U Chicago and No. 31 Loras, who both overtook No. 28 Haverford, and unranked Wesleyan and Augustana, who each beat multiple ranked teams.
Haverford’s LaRochelle and WashU’s Cullen Capuano, who finished within five seconds of one another at nationals last year to take some of the final All-American positions, again kept each other in sight, with LaRochelle coming in at fifth and Capuano at tenth with just 12 seconds of separation. Between them, Babson’s Anthony Rodriguez, Manchester’s Connor Havens, George Fox’s Austin Gappa, and Pomona-Pitzer’s White, who took the race out hard in the beginning, all ran standout races. None of the aforementioned hold cross country All-American honors, and their victory over All-American Capuano indicates that everyone in this race’s top ten could come home with an individual trophy.
Men’s team results:
No. 3 PP
No. 6 UWW
No. 14 George Fox
No. 12 MIT
No. 23 WashU
No. 30 UChicago
NR Wesleyan
No. 31 Loras
NR Augustana
No. 28 Haverford
Men’s individual results:
Gunner Schlender - UWW
Christian Patzka - UWW
Cameron Hatler - PP
Dan Anderson - UWW
Peter LaRochelle - Haverford
Anthony Rodriguez - Babson
Connor Havens - Manchester
Austin Gappa - George Fox
Quinn White - PP
Cullen Capuano - WashU
Cris’s takeaways:
After a September that seemed to just give us a taste of what’s in store for the season, Pre-Nats lifted the curtains on some of our lead acts for the finale in November. With points being available and for some, this being the only shot at outer region matchups, I fully expected to feel a tension in the air. I expected business trip vibes, headphones on, the intensity that appears when the sound of the gun is agonizingly both soon and far away in the distance.
But something about the evening provided a blanket of comfort and relaxation for hundreds of athletes waiting to toe the line. For many of these teams, the road to the National Championships officially started Friday Night under the lights, but as we saw countless characters come across the shirt booth that afternoon, you would think they were getting themselves ready for one of those memorable Invitational meets you had in high school. The teams knew what was on the line but instead of visible nerves, you saw genuine excitement. These athletes faced the toughest task of their year thus far with enthusiasm. While I’m sure the nerves were there, the atmosphere felt more like:
“I get the chance to race against some of the best teams in the country under the lights and that’s pretty freaking cool.”
As for the races themselves? It was action across the board. A giant pack in the women’s race with Faith Duncan executing an impressive move just after 4K to take the woman's crown and a statement performance from the MIT women that left us with our jaws on the floor. Pomona-Pitzer made the best out of their opportunity to beat some ranked squads.
On the men’s side, watching Quinn White gap the field and then still hold strong for top 10 was nuts. A battle up front with Gunner Schlender, Christian Patzka, and Cameron Halter had me on the edge of my seat trying to predict who was going to take the crown. Whitewater going 1-2-4 was impressive and Pomona’s depth carrying them to a win gave us a preview of what could be different ways to land on the podium this November. Watching unranked Wesleyan and Augustana get out there and get some points was great to see.
And we just have to remind ourselves that this is just a fraction of the teams we will see at nationals. If this is any sign of what’s to come, I have a prediction of who’s going to come out victorious. It’s us, the fans.
Having experienced a couple national championships in person, this was a nice preview of the craziness we’re sure to experience in about a month. The atmosphere of these teams are electric and what makes this division special. As the self-proclaimed logo guy of D3 Glory Days, I gotta say, some of those shirts went pretty crazy. Shout out to the racoon and skull shirts from Suffolk (maybe?), the Anderson University Raven in a college sweater shirt, and the Wilmington Faith Duncan shirt. Those went crazy. Also, whoever the kind soul at MIT was that gave us cookies: Drop the pumpkin cookie recipe. Thx.
Paul Short
And just when you thought you couldn’t get enough of a cross country high, Paul Short commanded the day on Saturday with a load of exciting results and upsets. The D3GD team woke up Saturday (some with a bit of a cross-country hangover) and went their separate ways, but from airport gates and rest stop parking lots, our eyes were glued on the results trickling in from Paul Short.
The first big action of the day came from the Men’s Gold Race, which saw top teams Johns Hopkins, RPI, and Carnegie Mellon battling it out with several D1 programs. Emmanual Leblond, the top D3 finisher in this race, led the way for Johns Hopkins, who bested both RPI and Carnegie Mellon in a crowded field. They beat Ivy program Dartmouth by a single point, and were nine points ahead of RPI. Carnegie Mellon finished behind RPI, but significantly farther back, with over 60 points of separation. Of the three teams, RPI had the tightest pack, Johns Hopkins had the widest spread, and Carnegie Mellon was somewhere in the middle, but had the highest placing fourth and fifth finishers.
Later on, in the College White Race, Lynchburg’s Chasen Hunt and SUNY Geneseo men finished on top. SUNY Geneseo led the race early on with their trio of Alex Hillyard, Charlie Wilson, and Austin Schoen, who all crossed through the mile in 4:48. By 5k, Wilson and Hunt had separated from the pack, making this race mono vs. mono. Wilson, having done much of the work early on, began to fade, and three-time All-American Hunt took the lead all the way until he reached the finish. Wilson held on for second, NYU’s Ryan Tobin kicked hard for third, and Hillyard finished fourth.
Come November, Hunt will certainly be an individual to watch, as will Leblond, who finished 24 seconds faster than Hunt in a more competitive field. The two will face off head-to-head in two weeks at Rowan, a matchup you won’t want to miss.
On the team front, there were several notable finishes: No. 19 Geneseo beat No. 7 NYU, No. 16 Tufts, No. 18 Lynchburg, and No. 27 Middlebury bested several teams ranked ahead of them, No. 22 Emory and No. 25 John Carroll beat No. 13 CMS, and unranked Mount Union, Moravian, and Vassar also posted top finishes amidst ranked teams.
When considering all D3 teams racing in one race against one another, RPI would have been the hypothetical winner based on their individual finishing times and tight spread. Hopkins would have been second, Geneseo third, and Carnegie Mellon fourth. Luckily for you all, you need only wait two weeks to see this head-to-head matchup, as RPI, Geneseo, and Carnegie Mellon will all battle at Geneseo on interregional weekend.
Men’s team results:
No. 19 SUNY Geneseo
No. 7 NYU
No. 16 Tufts
No. 18 Lynchburg
No. 27 Middlebury
No. 11 Amherst
No. 22 Emory
No. 25 John Carroll
No. 13 CMS
NR Mount Union
NR Moravian
No. 26 Rowan
No. 32 Brockport
NR Vassar
Men’s individual results:
Emmanuel Leblond - JHU*
Chasen Hunt - Lynchburg
Ryan Podnar - Carnegie Mellon*
Charlie Wilson - SUNYG
Lucas Rackers - Johns Hopkins*
Matthew Coyle - Carnegie Mellon*
Jonathan Craun - RPI*
Ryan Tobin - NYU
Alex Hillyard - Geneseo
Drew Donahue - Middlebury
Jack Lougery - RPI*
*Indicates Gold Race
Johns Hopkins women were the sole competitors in the Women’s Gold Race, posting a finish of 23rd out of 42 teams, most of which were D1 programs. They were led by freshman Carter Brotherton, who posted a 57th place finish, just a tenth of a second off of D1 school Monmouth’s first runner. She ran the exact same time, down to the tenth of a second, as Lynchburg’s Kayla Werner, who was fifth in the White Race, a rematch of which we will see at Rowan in a few weeks.
From their first to fifth runner, Johns Hopkins ran a 56-second split, reminding us all that this team is a strong contender for the podium and should never be counted out despite them sneaking under the radar a little bit in the Gold Race. Their 21:42 average was the best team average in D3 of the day.
In the College White Race, upsets were in full force, making this one of the most exciting races of the weekend. Amherst and RPI’s Jules Bleskoski were the weekend winners, both taking down sizable names on their roads to victory. Amherst came into the weekend ranked 11th, but beat No. 6 Emory, No. 3 NYU, No. 9 Geneseo, and No. 7 CMS, entering them into the national title conversation with teams like MIT and Colorado College.
They were led by freshman Flora Biro, who placed ninth overall. In fact, three out of Amherst’s top five were all freshmen, indicating some young talent that will prove a threat for years to come. Their 53-second split shows good pack running, and the close proximity between their fourth and fifth runners (less than one second apart) could be the nail in the coffin for a podium finish, or even, a national title.
Bleskoski is a name that came seemingly out of nowhere, though she was the winner of Purple Valley two weeks prior. In a patient race with Vassar’s Haley Schoenegge leading the way early on, Bleskoski timed her kick perfectly, overtaking Middlebury’s Audrey MacLean to win in a speedy 20:42. In beating names like Schoenegge, MacLean, Penelope Greene, and more, Bleskoski shows she will be a top contender at nationals.
Other strong performances came from No. 6 Emory who beat No. 3 NYU to claim second, No. 23 RPI, who was fourth overall and clearly has no business being ranked No. 23 anymore, and No. 26 and No. 27 Middlebury and Carnegie Mellon, who also beat several ranked teams en route to their seventh and eighth place finishes, respectively.
Though early season prospects favored teams NYU and UChicago, both programs have seemed to struggle a bit mid-season. Neither teams have finished in full force, leaving some open endedness to where they may truly fit in the rankings. With teams Amherst, Emory, Colorado College, MIT, and Johns Hopkins stepping up, the podium at nationals remains a distant mystery and adds some anticipation to nationals weekend.
Women’s team results:
No. 11 Amherst
No. 6 Emory
No. 3 NYU
No. 23 RPI
No. 9 SUNY Geneseo
No. 7 CMS
No. 27 Middlebury
No. 26 Carnegie Mellon
No. 14 Lynchburg
No. 18 Tufts
No. 29 Coast Guard
No. 18 Vassar
No. 25 Washington and Lee
No. 31 John Carroll
Women’s individual results:
Jules Bleskoski - RPI
Audrey MacLean - Middlebury
Haley Schoenegge - Vassar
Penelope Greene - SUNYG
Kayle Werner - Lynchburg
Carter Brotherton - Johns Hopkins*
Brigid Hanley - Emory
Keira Rogan - Hamilton
Olivia Pisicano - RPI
Flora Bio - Amherst
Janie Cooper - NYU
*Indicates Gold Race
Other notable results
And while most of the nation’s eyes were on Pre-Nats and Paul Short, some other big performances came in from around the country:
UW La Crosse men won the gold race at Notre Dame in 41 points to runners up Western Ontario’s 127. They were led by Grant and Aidan Matthai, who took third and fifth, respectively, and their top five shared a 48-second spread.
North Central’s men’s team ran in Louisville and finished fifth amid a lineup of larger schools. They were led by third-place cross country All-American Emerald Svienty and BJ Sorg, who took eighth and twelfth, respectively, and their 1-5 had a split of 51 seconds. This is just slightly off of their results from this meet last year, where they had a 48-second spread and a team average of 24:21 to this year’s 24:31.
Mohammed Bati of Augsburg won the Carleton Running of the Cows by a significant margin of 42 seconds. St. Olaf's men’s team took the team title.
Carleton women took first through third place at Running of the Cows to easily win in a score of 55 points.
Wartburg men went 1-7 at Dan Huston to sweep the victory. They were led by Isaiah Hammerand, who won in 24:06.
After a wild weekend in D3 Cross Country, here’s our updated rankings.
MIT women move to #1 in the nation!
SUNY Geneseo Men saw the biggest jump from 19th to 8th
RPI Women saw the biggest jump from 23rd to 8th
MSOE, Mount Union, Moravian, and Wesleyan Men join the rankings for the first time this season.
Pomona-Pitzer Women enter the rankings at #25.
D3 Alumni News
Eddie Mulder, Emory grad, ran 2:15:16 at the Berlin Marathon. It is a Central Club Track Club record and a new personal best.
Brandon Abasolo, Williams '13, ran 2:34:19 at Berlin.
Kassie Parker, Loras grad, ran 15:46 to win the Blazing Races road 5k. Caroline McMartin (Central) ran 16:46 in the same race.
Alex Burks, SUNY Geneseo grad, ran 1:05:11 to win the Wineglass Half Marathon. It’s a new personal best and a course record
Ryan Jara, Hope College grad, won the Maine Marathon in 2:21:09
Kim (Horner) Carr, Luther College grad, finished 6th at the Twin Cities Marathon in a new personal best of 2:36:29.
Aaron Davidson, Cornell College grad, won the Akron Marathon in 2:25:30.
UW-La Crosse Grads, Isaac Wegner and Ethan Gregg, had great races at TC 10 Miler. Wegner ran 48:43 and Gregg ran 49:09
Jessie Cardin, Westfield State grad, finished 6th and ran 53:03 in the TC 10 Miler.
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