BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Rutgers men’s and women’s cross country closed out the season at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals on Friday, Nov. 12 on the Goodman Campus Course. The women posted an 11th-place showing behind a pair of top-50 finishes, while the men’s team took 19th overall. Senior Olympia Martin earned the Scarlet Knights their best finish as she placed 36th overall in a field of 193 runners.
“The men and women ran tough in messy conditions,” said head coach Matthew Jelley. “Both teams made solid progress over the course of the season and laid a solid foundation to help propel the program to new heights.”
The 11th-place finish by the women’s team was the second-best performance all time for Rutgers, behind the 10th-place team effort in 2014.
It was the highest career finish for Martin, who took 36th with a time of 21:29.0. Freshman Alex Carlson added the second top-50 finish as she took 43rd in 21:40.0 to cap off a standout freshman campaign. Michelle Coyotl-Varela and Isabella Godish each ran personal bests as Coyotl-Varela finished 57th in a time of 22:00.6, followed by Godish in 79th with a time of 22:28.7. Kiera Nealon rounded out the scoring for RU as she placed 101st in a time of 22:55.0. Also competing for the Scarlet Knights were Kaitlyn Bragen (117th; 23:08.6) and Brooke Riedy (123rd; 23:13.3).
Leading the pack on the men’s side was Patrick Walsh, who finished 81st in 32:52.8. Ryan Mitchell ran to his best NCAA Regional finish as he took 93rd in 33:08.1. Billy Hill and Will Berger finished neck and neck with Hill taking a slight edge in 33:40.0 to finish 111th, while Berger took 112th in 33:41.8. Adding to the Scarlet Knights scoring total was Christopher Hill who was running his first career 10k with a time of 34:29.6 to place 133rd. Also competing for Rutgers was Dan Pedretti, who made his 10k debut (145th; 34:59.5), followed by Nick Hutchinson (148th; 35:06.0).
RUTGERS RESULTS
Women’s 6K
36. Olympia Martin – 21:29.0
43. Alex Carlson – 21:40.0
57. Michelle Coyotl-Varela – 22:00.6
79. Isabella Godish – 22:28.7
101. Kiera Nealon – 22:55.0
(117.) Kaitlyn Bragen – 23:08.6
(123.) Brooke…
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