LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Three All-ACC honorees highlighted a successful morning for the Stanford cross country team as it competed for the second time at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Cross Country Championships on Friday. The Stanford women nabbed fourth place courtesy of Sophia Kennedy’s seventh place finish while the Cardinal men took seventh with a blistering outing by Leo Young.
On the women’s side, Sophia Kennedy led the way for the Cardinal, earning a collegiate-best time in the 6K at 19:35.4, beating her former personal best by four seconds en route to earning All-ACC honors with her seventh place finish. Kennedy emerged near the front of the pack in eighth through the first 1000m before holding strong in the top-10, finishing her morning with her second top-10 finish of the season.
Mena Scatchard also nabbed a Cardinal-best in her second run for Stanford, narrowly missing out on All-ACC honors with a 23rd place finish. Scatchard increased her position on the course through all four checkpoints including sprinting 10 spots higher in the final 1000m, claiming a time of 20:08.5.
Following Scatchard, Julia Flynn, Riley Stewart and Hanne Thomsen finished as the remaining scoring harriers for the Cardinal with both Flynn and Stewart recording season-bests on Friday. Flynn, who ended the morning in 37th, increased her positioning following the halfway mark of the race, increasing four spots from the start. Stewart, on the other hand, clawed back in the final 1000m, increasing her position by eight spots to finish 44th with a time of 20:27.2. Thomsen raced well in her first collegiate conference championship, holding steady in 46th - and just behind Stewart - through the final 3000m to earn a time of 20:28.0.
Juliette Whittaker and Maya De Brouwer also raced well, serving as the reserve scorers for Stanford. Following Whittaker and De Brouwer, Hillary Studdert slotted with the Cardinal duo inside the top-100 as the Cardinal earned 150 team points en route to its fourth place finish.
On the men’s side, Leo Young and James Dargan led the way for Stanford with both earning all conference honors. Young, who slotted into the top-10 following the 4000m mark, held stride with the leaders, earning a career-best time of 22:55.0 and slotting fifth overall in a photo finish among third through ninth. Dargan, meanwhile, increased 19 positions overall en route to a career-best time of 23:18.1. Starting in 38th through the first 1000m, Dargan pressed forward and earned All-ACC honors alongside Young with his 19th place finish.
Following Young and Dargan, Stanford held strong as a pack with Josh Bell and Evan Noonan placing in the top-50 overall having finished within five seconds of each other. Both harriers earned season-bests in the late-morning wave to keep Stanford in the top half of the overall team championship while Byron Grevious finished as the final scoring harrier, earning a personal-best by two-hundredths of a second with a time of 24:01.3.
Nolan Topper and Quinn White served as the reserve scoring harriers for Stanford during the race. Topper placed inside the top-80 with a 71st overall finish while White finished in 119th overall. Gavin Sherry and Toby Chippendale also laced up for the Cardinal with respectable finishes of their own.
Stanford is back in action in The Golden State on Friday, November 14, looking to punch its ticket to the NCAA Championships with another run at the NCAA DI West Regionals in Sacramento, Calif.
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships
At E.P. “Tom” Sayer State Park
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Team leaders - 1, NC State 28; 2, Notre Dame 89; 3, North Carolina 127; 4, Stanford 150
Individuals - 1, Angelina Napoleon (NC State) 19:13.9; 7, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 19:35.4; 23, Mena Scatchard (Stanford) 20:08.5; 37, Julia Flynn (Stanford) 20:18.5; 44, Riley Stewart 20:27.2; 46, Hanne Thomsen (Stanford) 20:28.0; 80, Juliette Whittaker (Stanford) 20:58.2; 90, Maya De Brouwer (Stanford) 21:07.4; 96, Hillary Studdert (Stanford) 21:14.0; 131, Ava Parekh (Stanford) 21:52.4
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Team leaders - 1, Virginia 61; 2, Syracuse 65; 3, Wake Forest 111; 7, Stanford 164
Individuals - 1, Rocky Hansen (Wake Forest) 22:18.6; 5, Leo Young (Stanford) 22:55.0; 19, James Dargan (Stanford) 23:18.1; 41, Josh Bell (Stanford) 23:46.9; 49, Evan Noonan (Stanford) 23:51.8; 60, Byron Grevious (Stanford) 24:01.3; 71, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 24:09.0; 119, Quinn White (Stanford) 24:56.8; 125, Gavin Sherry (Stanford) 25:04.6; 132, Toby Chippendale (Stanford) 25:12.9