After posting impressive second and first-place finishes at NCAA Pre-Nationals the previous week, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps male and female cross-country teams put their dominance on display at Saturday’s Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, both placing first in team competition.
On the men’s side, CMS comfortably edged out the runner-up Azusa Pacific by 16 points, earning 32 points to win the title. Stevie Steinberg HM ’22 was the first Stag to cross the 8K finish line in third place, while Kyril Van Schendel CM ’22 followed close behind and ended fourth.
Three more Stags finished within the top 11 to secure a victory at the meet, with Will Kimball CM ’21 finishing ninth, Oliver Pick HM ’25 placing tenth and Miles Christensen HM ’22 ending eleventh.
For the women, the Athenas blew away their competition by earning a near-perfect score of 18, while second-place Westmont followed far behind at 81 points. With six women placing within the first 10 finishers of the race, CMS has now achieved two consecutive team titles dating back to the pre-Nationals meet.
The trio of Riley Harmon SC ’22, Meredith Bloss HM ’23 and Natalie Bitetti CM ’24 shone brightest of all the runners, finishing first, second and third, respectively, at the meet.
Looking forward, the two teams will next participate in the SCIAC Championships hosted by Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, Oct. 30.