Smith becomes first Division 3 female athlete to eclipse 20-minute barrier in 6-kilometer final, achieving largest margin of victory in championship, with Gregg’s performance still not enough to lift Wisconsin-La Crosse past Pomona-Pitzer; Carleton rallies late to capture first women’s crown

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

From the closest men’s team finish to the widest margin of victory in the women’s race in NCAA Division 3 Cross Country Championships history, Saturday’s final ran the gamut of emotions at the Big Spring Course in Pennsylvania.

The event also showcased a runaway win in the men’s 8-kilometer competition and a highly competitive women’s team podium, with seven points separating the top four programs.

Pomona-Pitzer was the only familiar presence on a day where several first-time champions were crowned, including the Carleton women’s team, College of Saint Benedict star Fiona Smith and Wisconsin-La Crosse standout Ethan Gregg.

RESULTS

The Sagehens, ranked No. 8 entering the Division 3 final, captured their third men’s team title in the past five years, edging Wisconsin-La Crosse by a 158-159 margin, despite the Eagles being led by Gregg covering the 8-kilometer layout in 24 minutes, 2.4 seconds to become the program’s first champion since Brett Altergott in 1997.

Lucas Florsheim (24:40.1) and Derek Fearon (24:40.3) were ninth and 10th for Pomona-Pitzer, which had Cameron Hatler (24:54.0) and Colin Kirkpatrick (24:56.5) finish 25th and 27th, in addition to Jack Stein securing 119th in 25:49.3.

The Sagehens boast two of the top three highest winning men’s team scores in Division 3 history, with its 164-point performance in 2019 ranking second only to North Central accumulating 167 points to secure victory in 2012.

Gregg built a seven-second advantage at the mile and continued to add to his lead throughout the race, improving on a fourth-place finish last year in Michigan. Christian Patzka of Wisconsin-Whitewater was second in 24:20.7.

Wisconsin-La Crosse had another All-American in Isaac Wegner supporting Gregg with an 18th-place performance in 24:45.6. But the Eagles were unable to protect a projected 59-point advantage at the 6-kilometer mark, with Pomona-Pitzer closing strong to add another title to championships in 2019 and 2021.

Joey Sullivan (25:22.9) was 59th, Grant Matthai (25:25.4) took 63rd and Adam Loenser (25:25.7) earned 64th for Wisconsin-La Crosse, which was seeking its first men’s championship since 2005.

North Central, the most decorated program in Division 3 history with 19 men’s team titles, took third at 169 points, relying on All-America efforts from third-place finisher Max Svienty (24:23.1), as well as Andrew Guimond placing 15th in 24:43.3 and Braden Nicholson securing 17th in 24:45.4.

Williams finished fourth with 212 points, led by John Lucey achieving sixth in 24;35.2 and Nikhil Denatale grabbing 20th in 24:46.5.

Colorado College’s James Settles placed fourth in 24:30.2, Cory Kennedy of RPI finished fifth in 24:32.0 and teammate Vince Simonetti earned eighth in 24:39.6, and Central College’s Caleb Silver achieved seventh in 24:35.8.

As impressive as Gregg’s 18-second triumph was to capture the men’s title, the most dominant effort in Division 3 women’s championship history was delivered by Smith, who took runner-up last season by a 43-second margin behind Loras star Kassie Parker.

Smith not only became the first Division 3 female competitor to eclipse the 20-minute barrier in the final, she took down another record by Wartburg all-time great Missy (Buttry) Rock.

Smith ran 19:54.1, the fastest performance in a Division 3 final since a 20:00.2 effort by Buttry in 2003.

Her margin of victory Saturday against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Natalie Bitetti (20:57.4) was 63.3 seconds, surpassing Buttry’s 63.1-second win 20 years ago against Liz Woodworth of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Smith concluded the fall as the only Division 3 female competitor in history to produce three sub-20 performances in one season.

Although Smith left no doubt about the individual winner, the battle for the team title was highlighted by an impressive rally in the final kilometer from Carleton, which captured the first women’s championship in program history. The Knights won their lone men’s team crown in 1980.

Carleton overcame a projected 30-point deficit at the 5-kilometer mark to prevail against New York University by a 151-154 margin, marking the third consecutive Division 3 women’s final decided by three points or less.

University of Chicago took third with 156 points and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished fourth at 158 points.

Carleton, which made the women’s podium for the first time last season with a fourth-place finish in Michigan, was led by All-Americans Hannah Preisser (21:22.5) and Phoebe Ward (21:24.3) placing 14th and 16th, respectively.

Helen Cross secured 41st in 21:56.9, Aliya Larsen took 46th in 21:59.3 and Sophie McManus achieved 62nd in 22:10.6 for the Knights.

Grace Richardson led NYU, which improved from 26th last season, by earning ninth in 21:18.8 and Morgan Uhlhorn grabbed 15th in 21:22.9.

Vivian Kane was 37th in 21:45.8, Kate Cochran secured 47th in 22:02.9 and Janie Cooper captured 81st in 22:20.3 for the Violets.

Chicago, which produced back-to-back podium efforts after earning second last season, received All-America performances from Maddie Kelly taking seventh in 21:17.4, Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel placing 12th in 21:21.4 and Elisabeth Camic achieving 19th in 21:27.1.

Bitetti was supported by Riley Capuano in 11th in 21:20.2 and Elle Marsyla finishing 27th in 21:36.7 for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which returned to the podium after placing second in 2021 in Kentucky.

Johns Hopkins, last year’s winner and an eight-time Division 3 women’s team champion, took 12th with 356 points, ending a run of 10 consecutive podium appearances. It marked the first time finishing outside the top 10 for Johns Hopkins since a 14th-place performance in 2011.

Penelope Greene took third in 20:59.3 for fifth-place SUNY Geneseo, Grace Hadley from WPI finished fourth in 21:00.1, Carolyn Shult of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was fifth in 21:04.3, Sara Stephenson secured sixth for Johns Hopkins in 21:13.5, Emory’s Brigid Hanley earned eighth in 21:18.0 and Middlebury freshman Audrey Maclean achieved 10th in 21:20.1.