CARY, N.C. – In their first Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships, the Stanford men and women each placed second on Friday at Wakemed Soccer Park.
In a women’s competition in which three teams finished within six points of each other, Stanford scored 121 points to Notre Dame’s 115, with North Carolina placing third in a tiebreaker with 121.
In the men’s race, Stanford moved up the field throughout the race on the way to scoring 69 points to Wake Forest’s 60.
Cole Sprout was Stanford’s highest placer in either race, finishing fourth while running the men’s 8-kilometer (4.97-mile) course in 22:37.7. The time was Sprout’s personal best and the fastest by a Stanford runner at that distance since Charles Hicks won the 2022 Pac-12 title in 22:30.9 in Riverside, California. Sprout carried a 4.32 mile pace throughout the mostly flat race.
In Stanford’s first cross-country race ever in North Carolina, the Cardinal men placed three among the top 11 – with Thomas Boyden taking ninth in 22:41.6 and Lex Young 11th in 22:49.4. All three earned All-ACC honors by placing among the top 21.
Robert DiDonato and Leo Young placed 22nd and 23rd, with Paul Bergeron finishing as the second true freshman in the field, in 27th. Overall, four freshmen ran in Stanford’s 10-runner lineup.
Zofia Dudek and Sophia Kennedy led the Cardinal women, in 10th and 11th. Dudek clocked 19:49.0 over 6K (3.73 miles) with Kennedy in 19:52.3. Riley Stewart was 27th, Julia Flynn 34th, and Nicola Hogg 39th to finish third through fifth on the team.
The men’s race featured six teams ranked among the top 16 in the USTFCCCA coaches’ poll, with No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Wake Forest, and No. 10 North Carolina State the highest among them. The temperature was 63 degrees at the start.
The race was crowded for the early kilometers on a relatively narrow course that made passing difficult. A three-man pack broke away that did not include any Cardinal, but Sprout moved up from seventh at 5K to lead the chasers over the final stages.
Stanford was third, fourth, third, and second through the splits. The Cardinal moved into second at 5K, but with a notable deficit. Through 6.5K, Stanford still trailed Wake Forest by 31 points, but improved by 22 points over the final section to close the gap.
Over the final 1.5K, Leo Young improved 12 places, DiDonato eight, and Bergeron four.
Stanford’s top five had an excellent 32-second spread. The Cardinal had the highest placing No. 3 runner with Lex Young in 11th, and the highest-placing No. 6 and No. 7 runners, with Bergeron in 27th and Nolan Topper in 33rd.
In the women’s race, No. 5 Notre Dame led the team competition throughout, with No. 15 Stanford, No. 19 North Carolina, and No. 10 North Carolina State dueling for the second spot. Even so, the gap closed dramatically over the final 1.3K segment. Through the four splits, Stanford trailed the Irish in order by 10, 17, 18, and 42 points.
Over the final 1.3K, Stanford gained 36 points on Notre Dame. The biggest movers were Flynn, who moved up five positions, and Hogg, who improved six.
Though Stanford and North Carolina were equal on points, Stanford had a 3-2 advantage over the Tar Heels among matchups in each of their top-five positions to earn the tiebreaker. Stewart, Flynn, and Hogg picked up those individual victories, with Stewart in 27th being the closest, beating UNC’s No. 3 runner by one place and 0.7 seconds.
Dudek and Kennedy have finished 1-2 among Stanford runners in all four races this season, in either order. Each earned All-ACC honors. It was the fourth all-conference honor for Dudek in cross country.
The Stanford men had their two-year conference winning streak snapped, after winning titles in the final years of the Pac-12. This was the Stanford men’s fifth consecutive season with a top-two conference finish and 29th overall.
This is the second consecutive top-two conference finish for the Stanford women, after placing second in the Pac-12 last year, and 27th overall.
Stanford next races at the NCAA West Regionals on November 15, in Colfax, Washington. Both Stanford teams are in good shape to advance to the NCAA Championships as either automatic or at-large qualifiers. The top two at regionals advance automatically. The Stanford men are ranked No. 1 in the West and the women are No. 2.
ACC Championships
At Wakemed Soccer Park
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Team scores – 1, Wake Forest 60; 2, Stanford 69; 3, North Carolina 80; 4, Virginia 94; 5, Syracuse 122; 6, Notre Dame 127; 7, North Carolina State 210; 8, Virginia Tech 213; 9, Cal 290; 10, Florida State 296; 11, Duke 345; 12, Georgia Tech 370; 13, Pittsburgh 373; 14, Boston College 389; 15, Louisville 416; 16, Clemson 431; 17, Miami 498.
Winner – Gary Martin (Virginia) 22:17.6.
Stanford – 4, Cole Sprout 22:32.7; 9, Thomas Boyden 22:41.6; 11, Lex Young 22:49.4; 22, Robert DiDonato 23:04.4; 23, Leo Young 23:05.3; 27, Paul Bergeron 23:08.8; 33, Nolan Topper 23:12.0; 40, Patrick Koon 23:21.4; 49, James Dargan 23:31.1; 73, Josh Bell 23:52.3.
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Team scores – 1, Notre Dame 115; 2, Stanford 121; 3, North Carolina 121; 4, Virginia 152; 5, North Carolina State 160; 6, Boston College 185; 7, Florida State 190; 8, Syracuse 197; 9, Wake Forest 200; 10, Louisville 202; 11, Clemson 221; 12, Georgia Tech 298; 13, Virginia Tech 329; 14, SMU 367; 15, Cal 392; 16, Pittsburgh 410; 17, Miami 511; 18, Duke 549.
Winner – Grace Hartman (North Carolina State) 19:15.1.
Stanford – 10, Zofia Dudek 19:49.0; 11, Sophia Kennedy 19:52.3; 27, Riley Stewart 20:18.8; 34, Julia Flynn 20:23.6; 39, Nicola Hogg 20:27.3; 67, Audrey Suarez 20:54.8; 117, Juliette Whittaker 21:35.7; Hillary Studdert DNF.