Yale Athletics

The Yale cross country team raced at the Codfish Bowl at Franklin Park in Boston on Saturday, Sept. 21. Both the men’s and women’s team placed second out of the five and four competing NCAA teams, respectively.

Both teams treated the meet as another shakeout to prepare for the high-stake races at the end of the season, according to team members. 

The women’s team sent eight runners and the men’s team sent five, which was the number of athletes needed to score. Most of the racers debuted at Codfish, having not raced at the season opener earlier in September.  

The course was modified slightly due to construction in the area, so even the returning athletes were presented with a new course this time around. 

This created an issue for the runners directing the pack because along with the course changes, the event did not provide a lead vehicle. 

“We often had to guess which way to go at the crossroad,” Austin Montini ’25 wrote to the News. “Many of us in the lead pack went the wrong way a couple times.”

Montini was Yale’s top scorer in fourth place with a time of 26:03, leading the Bulldogs to their second-place finish. Matthew Schutzbank ’28 debuted his cross country career and crossed the finish line as the Bulldogs second runner up with a time of 26:28. 

“With another two weeks of training, a faster course, and better weather, I hope to set a PR next week at Lehigh,” Montini wrote.

The weather conditions presented another challenge. Schutzbank wrote to the News that he was “running through puddles and hurdling over slipping bodies.” 

This would have rattled most runners, but the Bulldogs put up a fight.

 “Our team showcased a lot of grit and competitive energy,” Montini wrote to the News. 

Owen Karas ’26, top scorer at the Yale-Harvard season opener, highlighted the Bulldogs’ united effort by stepping in for his sick teammate Elon Abergel ’25. 

Montini wrote, “Owen Karas stepped in for Elon, pausing his vacation in Boston to help pace Liam to a PR, allowing the Bulldogs to field a full team and [qualify to] score.”

The men’s team also raced sophomores Jack Diaz and Liam Sullivan. 

Captain Kylie Goldfarb ’25 was Yale’s top scorer for the women’s team, finishing in fifth with a time of 19:02. Behind her, first-years Sylvia Sanok Dufallo ’28 and Zoe Martonfi ’28 placed sixth and seventh, respectively. 

Marina Carlos ‘26, Anna Chamberlin ‘26, Miranda Lorsbach ’26, Priya Gangadharan ’27 and Lily Jin ‘28 also raced and finished within twenty-five seconds of Goldfarb, demonstrating the strong group effort held by Yale. 

“The team is proud of how we competed in such harsh conditions, and this effort has set us up well to show our true potential at Lehigh in two weeks,” Montini wrote to the News. 

The Bulldogs are set to compete at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University on Oct. 5.