Racing against some of the country’s top teams at the 10th annual Nuttycombe Invitational this past weekend, both Georgetown cross country teams failed to distinguish themselves, finishing in the latter half of their races. Of the 33 teams competing in the Championship Races, the Georgetown women’s team finished 25th with a final score of 663, while the men’s team finished 18th with 471 points tallied. Yet, because this weekend’s competition may have been the toughest that the Hoyas face all season, it can be difficult to see the small gains both teams have made since their season opening races.
Although they were outperformed by competition, the women’s team has gained momentum since its first race, the 2018 Spiked Shoe Invitational. Once again, junior Paige Hofstad led the team, finishing No. 32 in the Championship Race. Hofstad was followed by junior Margie Cullen and freshman Katie Dammer who surpassed the 100-marker, coming in 111th and 143th place, respectively.
Despite the lack of success in comparison to other teams, Hofstad, Cullen, Dammer, and freshman Alyssa Aldridge all raced faster than they did at Spiked Shoe, with Hofstad dropping a full 38 seconds off of her time. Even senior Kayla Grahn, who competed in the Women’s B Race, cut down her time, finishing faster than sophomore Martha MacDonald and freshman Katherine Modrall, who competed in the Women’s Championship Race.
With almost an entirely different lineup of runners, it is more difficult to compare the men’s performance at Nuttycombe with Spiked Shoe. Led by junior Jack Van Scoter, who came in 53rd place, the men managed to finish with 3 runners in the top 100, including graduate student Christian Liddell in 57th place and senior Nick Wareham in 63rd place.
Sophomore Ty Brownlow, who led the Hoyas at Spiked Shoe, crossed the finish line as No. 202 and finished last among the Hoyas in the Championship Race, yet he chopped almost a full minute off of his previous time. The Men’s B Race runners, juniors Eion Nohilly, Joshua Bell, Dylan Scarsone, and Jonathan Chavez raced significantly faster than they did at Spiked Shoe. Chavez notably cut 2 minutes and 20 seconds off of his previous time, surpassing both Scarsone and Bell.
While the Nuttycombe Invitational may not have been the best race of the season so far, both teams have made strides in the three weeks since their last race. Georgetown raced against 6 of the top 10 schools in the country, making for difficult competition that pushed both the men and women to run faster and harder than they did at Spiked Shoe. The Hoyas may not have outraced their opponents, but they certainly outraced themselves.
Georgetown races next on Friday, Oct. 12 at the Penn State National Meet in State College, Pennsylvania.
