Yale Athletics

This past Friday, the Women’s cross country team won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship for the first time since 2003. 

The women’s team, which competed against 19 other teams in Bronx, N.Y., finished 50 points ahead of second-place Bucknell.

The men’s team also sent nine of its seasoned, strongest runners to the Pre-Nationals “B” race in Madison, Wis., who competed against 25 teams. The Bulldogs placed fourth, three points behind third-place Ohio State.

In the women’s race, Claire Archer ’26 led the pack, finishing second overall at 20:50.7. Linde Fonville ‘26, Charlotte Whitehurst ’26, Hebe Chadwick ’27 and Iris Bergman ’25 finished behind Archer, taking up four more of the top 20 places. Zoe Martonfi ’28 and Daniella Henderson ’27 rounded out Yale’s top seven scoring spots, finishing 24th and 33rd, respectively.

In Wisconsin’s Pre-Nationals meet, Leo Brewer ’25 placed twelfth, followed by Winslow Atkeson ’25 in 24th, securing a personal record. Owen Karas ’26, Varun Oberai ’25 and Kenan Pala ’26 rounded out the scoring places in the top third of the finishers.

“We beat some good teams, and we are excited about that. However, I think everyone on the team feels that we have more to give,” Karas wrote to the News. 

Men’s younger runners also shined at the IC4A Championship hosted by Fordham University. The Bulldogs placed thirteenth out of twenty-four competing teams, significantly improving from last year’s twenty-first place.

Braden King ’26 came in as Yale’s top scorer in twenty-sixth place, followed by Will Sheehy ’26 and Matthew Schutzbank ’28, who both secured personal records in the 8k. Amaré Fields ’27 and Seb Sutch ’28 rounded out the scoring places for Yale. 

The strong performances by both teams stirred excitement as they head into the Championship Season.

“The competition in the Ivy League is elite, and we are excited to leave our mark at the conference championship,” wrote Karas.

The Bulldogs will compete in the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross-Country Championship on Nov. 2 in Princeton, N.J.

MEGAN KERNIS