PRINCETON, N.J. – Rutgers cross country traveled south to compete in the Princeton Fall Classic on Friday, October 18 in a field that featured 22 teams. Run at the Meadows Campus course, the race served as a final tune up before the 2024 Big Ten Championships.
"We knew today's race was going to be extremely competitive with eight of the women's teams and five of the men's teams ranked in the top 30 nationally," said
Nicol Starkes, associate head coach. "Several of our women and men ran personal bests over 6k and 8k, respectively, which is a good confidence booster heading into the Big Ten Championships.
"For the women, freshman
Kelseigh O'Neil led the squad with a 28-second personal best, while junior
Jack Tavaglione led the men's squad for the second meet in a row with a 38-second personal best. We're looking forward to the next few weeks of training leading up to the Big Ten Championships"
Jack Tavaglione ran 24:05.2 to finish 71st and lead the Scarlet Knights on the men's side. He was followed by
Hisham Ettayebi in 106st place with a time of 24:26.0, while
Dan Pedretti went 133rd in 24:42.1 and
Micah Lawson placed 135th in 24:43.5. The scoring was rounded out by
Liam Tilton, who finished 143rd in 24:47.9.
Kelseigh O'Neil paced RU on the women's side, finishing 99th in 21:10.9.
Lorena David placed 100th with a time of 21:11.6, followed by
Casey Walter (127th; 21:33.6),
Sofia Condron (135th; 21:37.4) and
Michaela Schlemo (193rd; 22:35.3).
The Scarlet Knights return to action in two weeks for the 2024 Big Ten Championships on Friday, November 1 in Savoy, Illinois at the Orange and Blue Golf Course.
Team Standing
Men's Results – 8K (17th out of 22)
71.
Jack Tavaglione 24:05.2
106.
Hisham Ettayebi 24:26.0
133.
Dan Pedretti 24:42.1
135.
Micah Lawson 24:43.5
143.
Liam Tilton 24:47.9
Women's Results – 6K (21st out of 22)
99.
Kelseigh O'Neil 21:10.9
100.
Lorena David 21:11.6
127.
Casey Walter 21:33.6
135.
Sofia Condron 21:37.4
193.
Michaela Schlemo 22:35.3
