Over the weekend, the Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s cross country teams dominated the Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational, with both squads capturing first place among six competing teams.
The men’s team delivered a commanding performance, placing five runners in the top 10 and 10 in the top 20. Leading the charge were two first-year standouts, Kian Schneeweis and Jay Woodhouse, who finished back-to-back in third and fourth place with times of 28:05.3 and 28:06.9, respectively, out of 87 total competitors.
Three more Spartan runners rounded out the top 10, with graduate student Michael Lombardi placing sixth in 28:13.0, first-year Jacob Porter finishing seventh in 28:19.7, and fourth-year Solomon Greene taking eighth with a time of 28:33.4.
The Spartans sealed the team victory as first-years Tyler Ginther, Caleb Guarino and Devin Montileone finished back-to-back-to-back, claiming 11th, 12th and 13th place, respectively.
The Spartans outpaced Pennsylvania Western University, California; West Virginia Track Club; Wooster College; Allegheny College; host Muskingum University; and Franciscan University to claim the title. Notably, two of the team’s top runners—third-year captain Jacob Slater, who was named UAA Athlete of the Week on Sept. 2 and Sept. 22, and second-year Donovan Crowley—did not compete in the meet.
The women’s team was equally impressive, capturing first place out of six teams with three runners in the top five, five in the top 10, and six in the top 15. First-year Francesca Taracila set the pace for the Spartans, finishing second out of 60 runners in the women’s 6K with a time of 23:24.0. Close behind was fellow first-year Aditi Mukundha, who placed fourth in 23:32.2, followed by second-year Cecilia Postma in fifth at 24:43.3 and first-year Reid Smith in sixth with a time of 24:45.7.
Following the weekend, the Spartan men hold the No. 2 ranking in the Great Lakes Region, while the women sit at No. 5. Among the standout performances, second-year Paul Salah posted a season-best time in the 8K, while Guarino achieved a career-best mark. On the women’s side, Smith also recorded a personal best in the 6K. Competing in the Daniel Mullen Memorial Invitational for the first time, the Spartans made a strong statement with their dominant showing on the course.
The Spartans will now take a two-week break before returning to action on Oct. 18 at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble. After that, they’ll face one of their toughest tests of the season at the UAA Championships on Nov. 1.