DePauw’s Cross Country season is coming to a close, with the NCAC championships on Saturday, October 28th. Both the men’s and women’s teams have had successful seasons so far and are hoping to bring home the conference championship.
The women's team, according to a recent NCAC poll, is projected to finish 2nd at the conference meet behind Wittenberg. These Tigers have put together many great results this season, winning multiple events.
The team had an extremely dominant performance at Rose-Hulman, where they finished with a perfect score. Grace Thomas ‘27, Meredith Sierpina ‘24, Grace Flores ‘27, Sophie Porter ‘25, and Lilly Monnett ‘25 took the top five positions in the event. For the second time this season, Thomas won the Gold.
The team also finished first place in their two prior meets, those being the Grizzly Invitational at Franklin and the NCAC Preview at Denison. The Augustana Invite saw a competition of forty teams, with our Tigers finishing 8th in a very competitive field.
The men’s team is also hoping to bring home the gold. The recent NCAC poll has our Tigers as the favorites to win the conference, especially after strong showings later on in the season.
Henry Streib ‘24 said that the team’s performance at Rose Hulman was a shift in momentum for the season. “We had a really great meet at the Nike Twilight Meet in Terre Haute. Everyone on our team ran great and we beat Oberlin by a good amount. They're probably our biggest competition in the conference, so beating them early in the season has given us a lot of confidence,” he said.
Oberlin, the NCAC’s reigning champion, defeated the Tigers last year despite projections in DePauw’s favor. “Last year, we went into conference as big favorites and got upset by Oberlin,” Streib said, “This year, we definitely have a different mindset. We know we're gonna have to earn it, but we also know if we can put together good races then no other team can beat us.”
Both teams raced at Denison’s course in Grandville on October 28th for a chance at the conference championship.