Colorado Cross Country Reaches the Finish Line of the Season

After sweeping the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships, Colorado’s men’s and women’s teams entered the NCAA Championships with a No. 5 and No. 3 ranking, respectively.

The women’s 6k was first. CU’s team, with 187 points, placed fourth and were the top finishers for the Pac-12. This is their fifth podium finish in seven years. Abby Nichols was the first Buff to cross the line in eighth with a time of 19:37.6. Next was Emily Covert in 31st with a time of 19:51.8. 

Nichols and Covert received All-American cross country honors for finishing within the top 40; this is Nichols’ second career All-American honor and Covert’s first. Two more runners for CU in the top 60: Rachel McArthur came in 54th with a time of 20:09.4, and India Johnson came in 58th with a time of 20:11.7. Hannah Miniutti was the second-highest finishing true freshman in the field in 85th with a time of 20:25.2.

In the men’s 10k race,  CU placed eighth with 249 points. They were the second-highest placed team from the Pac-12, following Stanford in fifth. Eduardo Herrera was the first Buff to finish in 24th with a time of 29:22.0; this earned him his second career All-American cross country honors. 

The next two finishers for CU were Andrew Kent in 45th with a time of 29:34.9 and Stephen Jones in 62nd with a time of 29:47.7. Jones also recorded the fastest final kilometer by a Buff at 2:51.4.

CU women finishers: 8. Abby Nichols, 19:37.6; 31. Emily Covert, 19:51.8; 55. Rachel McArthur, 20:09.4; 58. India Johnson, 20:11.7; 76. Micaela DeGenero, 20:20.2; 85. Hannah Miniutti, 20:25.2; 96. Madie Boreman, 20:28.6. 

CU men finishers: 24. Eduardo Herrera, 29:22.0; 45. Andrew Kent, 29:23.9; 62. Stephen Jones, 29:47.7; 70. Austin Vancil, 29:55.9; 85. Brendan Fraser, 30:04.5; 124. Charlie Sweeney, 30:22.1; 202. Alex Hornecker, 31:10.1.

Despite not quite achieving all of their goals for the championships, the Buffs did improve upon their performance last year where the men placed 14th overall and the women seventh. In addition, Abby Nichols’s and Eduardo Herrera’s performance earned them the CU Athletes of the Week honor presented by Arrow. 

Although this is the end of the cross country season, many of these athletes still have indoor and outdoor track & field seasons to look forward to. Their first meet is Friday, Dec. 3 at the Air Force Academy.