TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In its first cross country race in more than 14 months, Stanford earned team and individual victories at the FSU Winter XC Classic on Friday.
The No. 12 Stanford men, paced by freshman Cole Sprout and with four in the top 20, took down No. 6 Iowa State and No. 13 Colorado to win the team race. And Ella Donaghu and freshman Zofia Dudek went 1-3 to lead the No. 4 Cardinal women to second behind No. 8 Colorado.
This was the first competition for the Stanford cross country/track and field program since MPSF indoor track championships on Feb. 29, 2020, and first cross country race since the NCAA Championships since Nov. 23, 2019.
Donaghu, the 2019 NCAA West Regional champion, covered the 6-kilometer (3.73-mile) course at Apalachee Regional Park in 20:07.0, beating runner-up Cailie Logue of Iowa State by two seconds. Dudek, the 2019 Foot Locker national high school champion, was third in 20:09.2, just 0.1 behind Logue.
In a large pack for much of the race, Donaghu made her move over the final kilometer to win going away.
Julia Heymach (10th)) Jessica Lawson (32nd), and Grace Connolly (34th), in her collegiate cross country debut, gave Stanford its top five. Stanford scored 77 points, to trail only Colorado's 72.
Stanford's seven-man crew included four freshmen in eligibility, with two of them -- Sprout and Charles Hicks – placing fifth (23:31.7) and sixth (23:36.0) on the 8K (4.97-mile) course. Stanford, with two-time All-America Alek Parsons (12th), DJ Principe (18th), and Devin Hart (29th) also among the top five, scored 67 points for a decisive victory over Iowa State and Colorado, each at 98.
Six of the top 10 times ever recorded on the course came in the men's race, with Sprout and Hicks breaking into that all-time list at Nos. 9 and 10.
Stanford's second-year coaches J.J. Clark, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, and Ricardo Santos brought 20 runners to compete in the men's and women's Garnet (the main competitions) and Gold races. Nine made their collegiate cross country debuts, including six true freshmen (four men, two women), Sprout and Dudek among them.
Stanford next competes Feb. 19 at the Battle Born Challenge in North Las Vegas, Nevada, before beginning the postseason with the Pac-12 Championships on March 5 in University Place, Washington.
The Cardinal men.
The Cardinal women.
FSU Winter XC Classic
At Apalachee Regional Park (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Garnet Races
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Team leaders: 1, Stanford 67; 2, Iowa State 98; 3, Colorado 98; 4, Utah State 160; 5, Wake Forest 184.
Winner and Stanford results: 1, Wesley Kiptoo (Iowa State) 22:48.8; 5, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 23:31.7; 6, Charles Hicks (Stanford) 23:36.0; 12, Alek Parsons (Stanford) 23:50.2; 18, DJ Principe (Stanford) 23:57.0; 29, Devin Hart (Stanford) 24:11.9; 34, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 24:15.9; 71, Michael Vernau (Stanford) 24:49.8.
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Team leaders: 1, Colorado 72; 2, Stanford 77; 3, Duke 128; 4, Oklahoma State 181; 5, Iowa State 189.
Winner and Stanford results: 1, Ella Donaghu (Stanford) 20:07.0; 3, Zofia Dudek (Stanford) 20:09.2; 10, Julia Heymach (Stanford) 20:36.5; 32, Jessica Lawson (Stanford) 21:03.3; 34, Grace Connolly (Stanford) 21:05.9; 63, Aubrey Roberts (Stanford) 21:42.6; 112, Abi Archer (Stanford) 22:32.8.
Gold Races
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Stanford results: 4, Ky Robinson 25:02.5; 17, Liam Conway 25:27.8.
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Stanford results: 3, Lucy Jenks 21:09.4; 13, Rebecca Story 21:58.4; 18, Jordan Oakes 22:07.9; 41, Tori Starcher 23:33.6.