The AU men’s and women’s cross-country teams raced their way to solid third- and sixth-place finishes, respectively, at the George Mason Invitational Sept. 29 in Leesburg, Va.
John Pope led the men’s team with a second-place finish, while Ali Tyburski paced the women’s squad with her eighth-place finish.
On the men’s side, the Eagles came into this meet on a high note. The team had notched runner-up and third place honors in their previous two races, and continued the string of solid finishes by placing third out of seven teams.
Pope continued an outstanding individual season by finishing second out of 99 competitors, posting a time of 25:03.6. Pope was 11 seconds behind the winner, La Salle’s Alfredo Santana. Through three races this season, Pope has never finished lower than third.
Senior Mark Leininger followed up Pope with a 10th-place result in a time of 25:42.3, missing out on ninth place by just over two seconds. With his strong run at George Mason, Leininger has finished in the top 10 in all three races this season.
As a team, the AU men have had at least two runners finish in the top 10 in all three of its races this fall.
Nick Regan was the Eagles third finisher in 25:44.7, good for 12th overall to tie a season-best finish.
Other results from the men’s team included sophomore Tom Woermer (31st, 26:32.4), Hunter Lussi (50th, 27:23.0), Ian Lutz (52nd, 27:27.6) and Brandon Latham (54th, 27:31.6).
Mark Allen, who was recently named the Patriot League Runner of the Week, did not compete at GMU.
Ali Tyburski set the pace for the women’s team on the day, notching a time of 23:10.4 for an eighth-place finish as she continues to be the most consistent finisher for the team. Julia Sullivan was the next best AU runner to finish, coming in 32nd at 24:28.4.
Following Sullivan was Carly Birkhold (44th, 24:59.6), Krystal Foster (51st, 25:23.9), Kelseagh Budris (59th, 25:54.7), Olivia Dibiasio (64th, 26:25.7) and Anike Oladeju (75th, 28:43.0).
La Salle won the team competition on both sides, with George Mason placing second. Next up, the Eagles will travel to Easton, Pa., to participate in the Leopard Invitational Oct. 13.
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