COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Stanford men’s and women’s cross-country teams compete at the Gans Creek Classic for the first time, on Friday morning.
The 8-kilometer (4.97-mile) men’s race begins at 6 a.m. PT and the women’s 6K (3.73-mile) begins at 6:45 a.m. at the Gans Creek Recreation Area Cross Country Course, site of the 2025 NCAA Championships.
This is Stanford’s second meet of the season, following the USF Invitational on Aug. 30 in San Francisco, but first with what is expected to a full squad.
Stanford men entered (though not guaranteed to compete) are Josh Bell, Zane Bergen, Paul Bergeron, Thomas Boyden, James Dargan, Robert DiDonato, Patrick Koon, Milo Skapinsky, Cole Sprout, Nolan Topper, Leo Young, and Lex Young.
The Stanford men’s entries include four freshmen: Bell, Bergeron, Dargan, and Koon. This would mark the collegiate debut of Dargan, an Englishman who was fourth in the 5,000 at the European Under-20 track and field championships in 2023.
Cardinal women entered are Audrey DaDamio, Zofia Dudek, Amelia Everett, Julia Flynn, Imogen Gardiner, Nicola Hogg, Sophia Kennedy, Ava Parekh, Madison Shults, Riley Stewart, Hillary Studdert, Audrey Suarez, and Juliette Whittaker.
If Whittaker competes, it would mark her first race since placing seventh in the Olympic 800-meter final in Paris this summer.
At No. 10, Stanford is the highest-ranked men’s team in the 36-team field. The only other team ranked among the USTFCCCA Top 30 is No. 28 Ole Miss.
The women’s race includes five teams ranked in the Top 30, with Stanford the second highest at No. 8. Also competing are No. 6 Florida, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 13 Lipscomb, and No. 26 Ole Miss.
Graduate student Cole Sprout, in his fifth cross country season with the team, is expected to lead the Stanford men with sophomore twins Leo and Lex Young. Sophomore Sophia Kennedy and graduate student Zofia Dudek are expected to pace the Stanford women.
The men will make three loops of the course, opening with a 2K followed by two 3K loops. The women will make two 3K loops.
The Stanford men were eighth at the NCAA Championships last year and the women were 12th. Each won NCAA West Region championships.
The live results link can be found here.