Akron 
The University of Akron cross country team garnered strong individual performances, including a school-record time from freshman Bismack Kipchirchir at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday (Oct. 4). The freshman crossed the line first in the men's 8K race in a school-record time of 23:18.0, while sophomore Mary Munga led the Zips in the women's 5K race with a time of 17:15.4. Moses Lekokei was the next to cross the line for the men’s team clocking 23:57.6 which was good for 4^th place. Heriberto Alvarez (25:17.2-59th), Taye Gonzalez (25:52.5-104th), Emil Stanford (25:57.7-109th), Justin Zapotoczny (26:04.9-113th), Quinn Hopkins (29:10.2-148th) rounded out the field for the Zips. Megan Hipple was the second runner to finish for the women’s team, earning 19^th (17:44.2).  Danielle Honaker (18:26.1-66th), Grace Henderson (18:35.0-77th), Kayla Sucharski (18:36.4-81st), Jadyn Towns (18:47.1-92nd), Halle Sebest (19:04.5-108th) rounded out the women’s field. 
 
Ball State 
The Ball State cross country team had an outstanding performance at Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invite, Friday afternoon. The Cardinals were the highest placing MAC team to compete in the Gold Race, finishing 33 points ahead of the eighth place Western Michigan Broncos.  Leading the way was Carly Spletzer, who finished 22nd overall. Spletzer crossed the finish line with a time of 17:48.8, nearly a minute faster than her previous 5k time. Third in for the Cardinals was Sarah Mahnensmith, finishing 27th with a time of 17:57.4. Close behind was Evie Noel, finishing 30th with a personal best time of 17:59.3. Shelby Christman crossed the finish line in 18:04.9, good for 39th overall. Also running personal bests were Tori Jackson, crossing the line in 18:45.5, and Jessica Velez who crossed the finish line in 19:02.0. Jenna Schifferer finished in a time of 19:07.6, followed by Autumn Spence's personal best time of 19:27.9. Rounding out the Cardinal lineup was Kendyl Thrasher. In her first race of the season, Thrasher crossed the finish line with a collegiate best 5k time of 19:59.7.  
 
Bowling Green 
The Bowling Green men's cross country team had seven runners compete at the 50^th edition of the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in one of the biggest races in the country. Ben Myers led the way for the Falcons with a time of 26:32.8. Anthony Sweet, making his season debut, tallied a time of 26:35.2 while Micah Bentley finished right behind him with a mark 26:35.7. Luke Woolard (27:03.2), Charlie Nowinski (27:48.3), Bryce Weber (28:17.6) and Luke Lesseuer (28:27.5) rounded out the BGSU performances. Lesseuer, a freshman, made his collegiate debut in the race. The BGSU women's cross country placed three runners in the top 60 at the Paul Short Run to power the Falcons to a 16^thplace finish at one of the most competitive races in the country. Kylee Cubbison shined as she finished in 24^th with a PR time of 20:49.9. Making her collegiate debut, freshman Lexi Panning raced to a 50^th-place finish with a mark of 21:01.7. Regina Rose wasn't too far behind, as she paced a mark of 21:03.7 to end in 59^th. Rachael Withrow (163^rd, 21:54.2), Emma Hellwege (212^th, 22:13.2), Amelia Barilla (227^th, 22:18.4), Rachael Hoover (235^th, 22:25.1) and Madison Foster (246^th, 22:30.8) rounded out the competitors for the Falcons.
 
Buffalo 
The Buffalo men finished ahead of several regionally ranked programs, including UMBC, Bucknell, Central Connecticut, Monmouth and Rutgers, placing 21st of 44 teams. Noah Brightman (74th, 24:35.9) and Evan Hilbert (75th, 24:36.4) finished inside the top 75 runners in the field of 366 student-athletes, posting personal record times. Junior Jacob Brink was next to place for the Bulls, taking 139th with a time of 25:00.7. Junior Matt Gensel (183rd, 25:19.0) and sophomore Gabriel Cornfield (213th, 25:30.4) rounded out the Buffalo top-five, with Cornfield posting a personal record time. Freshman Collin Stafford was the sixth Bulls' runner to place, finishing just behind Cornfield with a time of 25:31.4 (217th). "The men had a solid race for where we are in our training cycle," said Men's Distance Coach Todd Witzleben. "We were more aggressive through the first mile than I anticipated. We still ended up beating some regionally ranked programs. This race tells us what we need to work on as we approach the championship season." The Bulls also used the men's open 8k as an opportunity to train runners, a race that did not feature team scores. Freshmen Vincent Guaresimo (39th, 25:12.7) and Hayden Parks (60th, 25:28.4) both placed inside the top 60 runners in the field of 588 student-athletes. Both times were new personal records. Junior Cory Demo placed 85th (25:43.4) and sophomore Chris Turner finished 94th (25:51.2), putting four Buffalo runners inside the top 100. In the women's gold 6k race, the Bulls finished 11th of 35 teams. Lacey Danilovitz headlined the Buffalo women, finishing 23rd with a new personal best time of 22:10.1 in the field of 286 runners. Danilovitz has been the Bulls' top finisher in all three races she's competed in this season. Bronagh Cassidy was next to place for the Bulls, finishing 34th with a season-best time of 22:11.1. Graduate transfer Eliza Medearis (76th, 22:57.1), junior Vassi Klock (107th, 23:15.6) and sophomore Megan Smith (113th, 23:23.2) rounded out the top five for the Bulls. Smith's time was a new personal best.


Central Michigan 
Last October, at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, Emily Paupore made history by setting CMU Women Cross Country's 5k record of 16:51.2. Friday, at this year's Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, she knocked her old record out of the park. The Negaunee, Mich. senior finished 26^th in the women's blue 5k in 16:43.5, She was quickly followed to the finish by Natalie Newcombe, who also had a special race for the CMU women. With a little help from Paupore's new record, the Mecosta, Mich. senior ran the second-fastest 5k in CMU history. Newcombe shaved 11 seconds from her previous personal best time, finishing in 16:52.6. On top of Paupore and Newcombe's accomplishments, the Chippewa cross country programs combined for 17 personal-best times. The CMU men had another standout race, following up on a strong performance at Western Michigan's George Dales Invite on Sept. 20. As a squad, the Chippewas finished 5^th of 18 teams in the gold 8k race and collected seven top 100 finishes in the 150-runner field. The CMU men finished ahead of reigning Mid-American Conference Champion Akron, which finished 10^th as a team. Sophomore Nick Cockerel led the way for the Chippewas, finishing 37^th in a personal-best time of 24:55.7. Shortly behind were Blake Chipman (43^rd), Ethan Leitner (44^th) and Jason Fredericks (48^th). Leitner, Fredericks and Clay Kuiper also ran personal-best times, alongside freshman Miciah Smith, who ran in the men's open 8k.
 
Eastern Michigan 
The Eastern Michigan University cross country programs traveled west to the George Dales Invitational, hosted by Western Michigan University at Prairies Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Mich., with the men placing first in 8k (35 points) and the women finishing third in the 6k (69 points).  In the women's 6k, the Eagles had two runners place in the top 10 including the winner of the race, Marta Moreno, who cruised to a first-place finish in a personal-best, 20:14.5, finishing 17 seconds ahead of the runner-up, and marking the first individual win of her career as well as the first occurrence of consecutive top three finishes. Additionally, Anita Zaro came in ninth place, finishing in 21:27.8. The women had five runners score in the race. Along with Moreno and Zaro came Lucy Jones, Anna Bathellier, Liv Hatch, Chloie Mutsa, and Cora Henderson who had finishes of 15, 21, 23, 29 and 34, respectively. The team finished with 69 points, good for a third-place finish. Four athletes from Eastern Michigan came in the top 10 in the men's 8k, led by Sam Peterson, who covered the 4.9-mile course in 24:23, finishing second. The other three in the top 10 were Ronan Codyre, Ty Dailey, and Lachlan Cornelius who had times of 24:45.5 (fourth), 24:54.2 (fifth) and 25:09.4 (ninth), respectively. In addition to these four runners, the Eagles had two other runners score in the race in Isaac Garcia, AJ Hawkins and Joey Furlong who had 15 and 19 points, respectively. Six athletes broke 26 minutes in the men's 8k, while six male harriers also secured a personal-best time. 
 
Kent State 
Senior Baidy Ba won the Men's College Brown 8k in a time of 24:22.8 to lead Kent State on Saturday afternoon at the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University. Ba's second victory of the season was aided by two additional top-100 performances as the men finished 15th in the field of 38 teams. Sophomore Jack Curtis closed strong and passed 42 runners over the final 1.7k to cross the finish line with a personal-best time of 26:15.9 for 89th place. Graduate student Ethan Yost was right behind in 90th, finishing less than .1 second later. Sophomores Rylan Winkler (26:21.5; 103rd) and Isaac Perez (27:04.0; 164th) also contributed to the team score. The women's team was led by senior Sydney Miller, who completed the 6k course in 23:14.4 for 103rd place. Freshman Nora Salem improved her time by more than 90 seconds from the last meet and crossed the finish line in 23:24.5 to take 123rd. Junior Nicole Kuehner (23:42.9; 157th), junior Addie LaBombard (24:13.9; 195th) and freshman Alexis Tracy (24:27.5; 211th) rounded out the team's top five finishers.

 
Miami 
The RedHawk cross country teams traveled to Notre Dame this weekend to run in the Joe Piane Invitational. The women ran in the Gold 5k and finished in 13th place with 336 points, while the men ran in the Blue 8k and finished in 17th place with 430 points. For the women, Ava Nuttall led Miami by coming in 20th place with a time of 17:44.4. In her first meet running the 5k, freshman Linda Conchetto finished in 53rd place with a time of 18:15.1. Cara Razavi finished in 69th place with a time of 18:28.2 seconds, setting a new PR by nearly 21 seconds. Ella Boate finished in 86th place with a time of 18:39.8. Gianna Labbiento rounded out the top five for the RedHawks as she finished in 114th place with a time of 19:08.6. Nora Zubillaga (18:34.5), Avery Emerson (18:41.4) and Eve Traficanti (19:10.3) all ran in the women's open 5k and finished in 51st, 55th, and 80th place, respectively. For the men, Mhalicki Bronson was the highest placing RedHawk; he finished in 47th place with a time of 23:32.7 seconds, setting a new PR by 23.5 seconds. Patrick Wills finished in 61st place with a time of 23:40.7, beating his PR by a total of 24.3 seconds. Chris Perkins finished in 96th place with a time of 24:02.2, beating the previous PR time he set last week by 58.2 seconds. Petros Sanchez Ropero finished in 128th place with a time of 24:32.5, while Victor Orsinelli finished right behind him in 131st place with a time of 24:38.1. Josh Razor (24:59.6) and Brayden Everett (25:57.6) ran in the men's open 8k and finished in 35th and 73rd, respectively.
 
Northern Illinois
Bailey Wilk paced the Northern Illinois University cross country team, running a time of 19:11.7 on the five-kilometer course in the Gold Race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on Friday afternoon (Oct. 4). The second Huskie to finish was Camille Jackson, who ran a time of 19:44.1. Morgan Gioia was the third Huskies to finish, running a time of 20:25.4, over 50 seconds better than her five-kilometer time at the NIU Huskie Opener. Olivia Southby also improved upon her time from the first 5K race of the season, running 20:35.2, over 20 seconds better than her NIU Huskie Opener time. 
 
Ohio 
The Ohio men's and women's cross country teams recorded several personal-best performances and high individual placements at the Live in Lou Classic on Saturday, Oct. 5. In the women's 5k gold race, Ohio placed third out of 27 teams. In the men's 8k gold race, the Bobcats finished in 11^th place out of a field of 28 teams. Junior Alyssa Mason was Ohio's overall top performer of the day. Mason placed 13^th in the women's race with a personal-best time of 17:19.2. Junior Leila Boussedra was the second Bobcat to cross the finish line in the women's race. Boussedra placed 20^th with a personal-best time of 17:27.7, followed by senior Kelsi Harris who placed 21^st with a PR of 17:28.2. Ohio had two more Bobcats finished in the top 50 of the race. Junior Allie Martin placed 31^st with a personal-best time of 17:37.6 and freshman Kaitlyn Stewart placed 34^th with a time of 17:44.7. Sophomore Eliza Streit rounded out the top 100 for Ohio, finishing in 88^th place with a PR of 18:24.9. Leading the men's team was sophomore Charlie Slates, who placed 39^thwith a personal-best time of 24:44.4. Sophomore Andrew Bracken and junior Franklin Angelos also placed in the top 50 for Ohio. Bracken finished 44^th with a PR of 24:46.7 and Angelos finished 50^th with a PR of 24:48.9. Three Bobcats placed in the top 100 of the men's race. Junior Rocco DeVincent finished in 78^th place with a time of 25:09.7. Sophomore Nick Kennedy finished 93^rd (25:17.9, PR) and senior Jake Ethridge finished 94^th (25:18.0).
 
Toledo 
Freshman Mercy Kinyanjui led the Toledo women's cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago on Friday afternoon. The Rockets secured a fifth-place finish with 131 points in the women's 6K championship race. Kinyanjui finished with a time of 19:43.03. Seniors Lou Trois and Laura Nicholson placed within the top 25, earning times of 20:14.77 and 20:17.94, respectively. Sophomore Lianna Surtz took 33^rd overall with a time of 20:30.49 while Melody Jebiwot finished 45^th with a time of 20:41.13. In the men's 8K championship race, Dominic Serem paced the squad for the second-consecutive meet. The freshman finished ninth, completing the race with a time of 23:07.35. Joad Martinho was the second Rocket to cross the finish line, earning a final time of 23:30.78 to land in 18th place. The Rockets took 12th as a team against a challenging field, finishing ahead of Drake, Duke and UC Davis. Toledo also competed in open races. The women placed first in the 6K race, ahead of No. 29 Texas, Northwestern, DePaul and Loyola Chicago. Senior Olivia Gang led the way, recording a third-place finish with a time of 21:16.84. Bella Early, Bailey Ranta and Aubrey Duhaime earned 10^th, 12^th and 15^th place finishes, respectively. Tesfaye Young and Abi Yohaness competed for Toledo in the men's open 8K, placing 28^th and 35^th, respectively.
 
Western Michigan 
The Western Michigan cross country team had a strong day on the course, earning eighth place out of 23 teams at the Joe Piane Invite on Friday afternoon. That eighth-place finish was the program's highest since 2018 at the Joe Piane Invite. Lillian Zelasko led the way for the Brown and Gold, collecting 15th place with a time of 17:36.7. She has now finished 15th or better in back-to-back races to start her college career. Following Zelasko was Brooke Soper, who finished 47th with a PR 5K time of 18:09.6. Grace Aurand and Delaney Knoll weren't too far behind, as that duo finished 58th and 59th, respectively. Aurand also notched a PR time, finishing the race in 18:19.5. Not to be outdone, Knoll claimed another Bronco PR with a finishing time of 18:20.9. Rounding out the scoring lineup for WMU was Lauren Sancrant, who finished 62nd with a big PR time of 18:24.9. Lily Overton, Ava Kurczewski and Lara Machado Pereira also finished in the top 100 of the meet. The trio all earned times under 19 minutes, with Kurczewski and Machado Pereira recording PR marks.