Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Secure Back-to-Back A-10 Championships

The men and women’s Loyola cross country teams both earned first place and conference titles at the Atlantic-10 Conference Championships Oct. 29, 2022 in Mechanicsville, Virginia, capping off a successful conference season.

A year later, they’ve done it again.

In Dayton, Ohio Oct. 28 at the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course, the 9 a.m. start time was delayed for 40 minutes due to an earlier thunderstorm overhead. The course was able to absorb the rain to the point there was hardly any visible surface water upon the event’s resumption, according to head coach Gavin Kennedy.

The late start had little impact on the squad as both teams dominated the leaderboards in their respective competitions — the men’s 8K and the women’s 6K — for the title. Additionally, the performances marked the first time a program had gone back-to-back in A-10 history since La Salle University captured titles in 2006 and 2007.

Led by another standout performance from graduate student Chris Devaney, the Ramblers placed first of 15 teams in the men’s 8K with an average time of 24:14 and 26 points, finishing 33 points ahead of second place La Salle.

Devaney’s finish of 23:48 earned him his second consecutive individual championship, the first time in program history since 2007. Additionally, his time was the third-fastest for a male runner in conference history and broke the course record by 15 seconds. 

Accompanying Devaney in the top five were graduate François Guilhot and second-year Woody Jerome. Guilhot finished third with a time of 24:08, while Jerome’s fourth-place finish and time of 24:10 earned him the Most Outstanding Rookie honor. 

Rounding out Loyola’s qualifying runs were second-year Jason Clayton in eighth place with a time of 24:27 and graduate Sean O’Connell in 10th place. O’Connell’s time of 24:31 was a personal record and a vital part to the team’s title success, according to Kennedy.

Although they were unable to qualify for the team’s results, third-year Gabe Smit finished in 14th place with a time of 24:34. For finishing in the top 15 of all runners, the previously mentioned Ramblers all earned A-10 All-Conference honors.

The results didn’t reflect the final 2,000 meters, where the men were neck-and-neck with their opponents and had just started to pull away, according to Kennedy. It was only until five Ramblers in the top ten crossed the finish line, confirming their 33 point differential.

In the women’s 6K, the Ramblers earned first with an average time of 21:37 and 65 points, beating out second-place George Washington University’s score of 105. All qualifying Loyola runners finished in the top 25, and the individual championship was awarded to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Lauren Tunnell with a course-record time of 20:50. 

Graduate Delia McDade-Clay was the first Rambler to cross the finish line, finishing in sixth place with a time of 21:15. Following closely behind were third-year Grace Kuhn and first-year Julia Isham. Kuhn’s ninth place finish at 21:30 was a new personal record, as was Isham’s 10th place finish of 21:31 in her first collegiate championship. All three earned A-10 All Conference honors for their performances. 

The final qualifying runs came from a 17th place finish by third-year Grace Jostock with a time of 21:47 and first-year Eileen Seebon in 23rd place with 21:54. Kennedy gave credit to his first-year runners for showing maturity at such a high level in their first taste of championship competition.

Kennedy said he was proud of the fantastic and consistent work the Ramblers did in the 6K, especially competing against strong competition like Richmond University.

“Across the board, all of our women were really consistent,” Kennedy said. “And they needed to be, because we knew that Richmond might put two of their top women in front of our number one.”

After the team won their respective titles, Kennedy earned the A-10 Coach of the Year award — his second in as many years. He was extremely thankful for the support of members in the athletic department, his family and the team, which he was “so thankful and so grateful” for “running their best races.”

The team looks to maintain their momentum for the rest of the season when they travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma Nov. 10 for the NCAA Midwest Regionals. The event will start at 11:30 a.m. and results can be found online on the Loyola Athletics website. 

Featured image courtesy of Scott Huick | Loyola Athletics