CAA Cross Country Weekly Awards – Oct. 3
Hunter Peters
RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 3, 2023) – The CAA has announced its fourth cross country weekly award winners of the 2023 season. Stony Brook junior Grace Weigele was named CAA Women’s Runner of the Week, and Northeastern junior Benjamin Godish earned CAA Men’s Runner of the Week accolades.
WOMEN’S RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Grace Weigele, Stony Brook
Junior | Huntington Station, N.Y. / Walt Whitman
Weigele ran to a top-15 finish in the Women’s College Gold Race at the annual Paul Short Run, recording a personal-best mark of 20:35.2. The junior placed 12th out of over 400 participants to toe the line of the 6K course. Weigele’s effort paced the Seawolves, leading Stony Brook to a 14th-place finish in the 44-team field. Her time ranks first among CAA competitors this season.
MEN’S RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Benjamin Godish, Northeastern
Junior | Highland Park, N.J. / Highland Park
Godish earned a top-10 finish at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, leading Northeastern to a runner-up finish in the team standings. The junior covered the 8K course at Franklin Park in a personal-best time of 24:00.06 to place sixth in the 172-participant field. His mark is the fastest by a CAA student-athlete this fall and ranks third all-time in Northeastern program history. The Huskies only trailed No. 16 Harvard in the team competition while finishing ahead of No. 6 Syracuse.
2023 CAA CROSS COUNTRY WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Women’s Runner of the Week
Sept. 5: Sofia Istnick, William & Mary
Sept. 12: Abigail Hassman, Northeastern
Sept. 19: Maggie Springer, Elon
Oct. 3: Grace Wiegele, Stony Brook
Men’s Runner of the Week
Sept. 5: Shane Henderson, Stony Brook
Sept. 12: Benjamin Godish, Northeastern
Sept. 19: Sam Pritchard, William & Mary
Oct. 3: Benjamin Godish, Northeastern
Team Notes
Campbell: The Camels were in action at the Chanticleer Classic. Alitza Dennard ran to a top-10 finish, placing ninth in the women’s 5K with a time of 19:47.81. On the Men’s side, Jake Stanley paced Campbell on the 8K course, finishing 13th (27:21.94).
Charleston: The Cougars participated in the Live in Lou Classic at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville. For the third time in as many meets this fall, Rhian Purves (18:11.3/80th) and Mitchel Drees (25:58.9/80th) led the Cougar women and men, respectively.
Delaware: The Blue Hens were one of five CAA teams competing at the Paul Short Run. Danielle Eshelman paced Delaware, completing the 6K course in a personal-best 22:19.5 (175th).
Elon: The Phoenix participated in the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational, with the women claiming their second team title this fall and the men finishing runner-up in the team standings. Kate Buerger placed second in the women’s 5K (18:39.0) to lead the Elon women, while Caden Strickland earned a top-five finish to pace the men (25:58.0/5th).
Hofstra: The Pride were represented by Jordyn McDonnell and Zach Van Houten at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. Van Houten finished 25th in the men’s 8K (24:36.7), and McDonnell placed 38th in the women’s 5K (17:55.8).
Monmouth: The Hawks participated in the annual Paul Short Run. The men were paced by Declan McDonnell, who ran a personal best in the 8K at 24:43.2 (49th). Emily Simko led the women in the 6K, earning a top-100 finish in 21:35.9 (83rd).
UNCW: The Seahawks ran to a pair of runner-up team finishes at the Chanticleer Classic. Summer Herbertson earned a top-five finish on the women’s side, running 18:49.23 (4th) in the 5K, and Nash Mills placed top-10 in the men’s 8K with a mark of 26:44.42 (7th).
Northeastern: The Huskie men placed four runners in the top 25 of the 172-runner field at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown to finish runner-up in the team standings. Northeastern only trailed No. 16 Harvard, beating out No. 6 Syracuse, Texas A&M, Auburn, UConn, and Boston College, among others. Patrick Mullen joined Godish in the top 15, finishing 14th in 24:22.4.
Stony Brook: The Seawolves had an impressive showing at the Paul Short Run, with the men finishing third in the 8K Gold Race and the women placing 14th in the 5k Gold Race. Carlos Santos led three Seawolves in the top 20 for the men, running 24:06.8 to finish fifth. Fiona McLoughlin joined Weigele in the top 25, posting a mark of 20:55.0 (25th).
Towson: The Tigers also participated in the annual Paul Short Run, competing in the Women’s 6K Brown Race. Aubrey Schaffer was Towson’s top finisher for the third consecutive meet, running 23:17.1 (90th).
William & Mary: The Tribe was the final team among the CAA conglomerate at the Paul Short Run, with the women placing 13th and the men finishing 14th as a team. Sofia Istnick paced the W&M on the women’s side, running 21:09.9 (33rd), and Hayes Trapp was the top finisher for the men (24:43.3/72nd).
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