The Sagehens put on their racing shoes to compete against fellow Division III foes at the annual Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) Cross Country Invite, their last home race of the season, on Saturday, Oct. 20. In the 8,000-meter-race race, the P-P men’s team finished first overall with a score of 31 points and an average time of 25:19, beating out runners-up Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS). In the 6,000-meter-race, the women’s team placed second, behind CMS, with a score of 29 and an average time of 22:33.
This race came just two weeks after the Hens flapped their feathers at the NCAA DIII Pre-Nationals in Indiana on Friday, Oct. 4, where the P-P men’s team took first place in the 8K out of 46 teams from across the country and the women’s team placed sixth out of 44 teams in the 6K. As of this week, the P-P men’s team is now ranked No. 3 in DIII and the women are ranked No. 24.
Chloe Connolly PO ’25 placed 71st in pre-nationals out of 389 competitors and was the highest finisher for the P-P women on Saturday, placing sixth overall with a time of 22:24.50. Connolly spoke about how recent strong finishes from across the team will help the team push forward into the rest of the season.
“I think we have a lot of good momentum going,” Connolly said. “After [pre-nationals], we weren’t ranked nationally at all, and then we hopped up onto the national rankings. So I think we have a lot more to give. I think we’re on kind of an upswing right now.”
The Hens are well-practiced on their home course, The Farm, which — according to several members of the team — is tougher than most. For Joya Terdiman PO ’26, who finished seventh in the invite with a time of 22:27.7, coming in with a strategy is key.
“It’s a lot about breaking it up into sections because it’s kind of on a slant so you’ve got to power the uphills,” Terdiman said. “And I kind of focus on running up The Farm and then using the down as like a mental break.”
Despite the taxing terrain, Jack Stein PO ’26 emphasized the difference in mentality for a race like the invite compared to the upcoming postseason meets. Stein ran a 24:50.1 8K in pre-nationals, placing 13th out of 405, and finished sixth in the invite with a time of 25:13.3.
“Pre-nationals is kind of like a halfway point and then after that, you can kind of ease off a little bit,” Stein said. “Then [it’s just about] setting your sights for the National meet in late November and these meets, like today.”
Owen Kobett PO ’25 placed 18th in pre-nationals and fifth in the invite. He agreed that even when facing off against rivals CMS in the invite, the stress differed from other races.
“I was a lot more relaxed coming into the race,” Kobett said. “I was just kind of thinking, this is my home race, and this is also my last home race. I’m a senior, so I just was gonna go out here and have fun.”
According to Kendall Madine PO ’28, who placed 11th at the invite, part of the Hens’ success was thanks to the team mentality that has helped runners race together and place higher.
“It’s a super tight pack this year, which is super fun because you can always rely on running with teammates, and it’s never too competitive between anyone,” Madine said. “Everyone always wants the best for each other, which I think is just super healthy and definitely pushes you.”
Despite their overall success at the invite, P-P did not place first in the women’s 6K. The CMS Athenas outscored P-P by 21 points, placing four runners in the top five.
The Stags couldn’t trample the men’s Hens team, finishing in second place in the men’s 8K with their 34 points second to P-P’s 31; however, the Stags placed four runners in the top 10.
As the P-P men’s team vies for the top spot in the region, the coming weeks will be crucial for the title race.
“We haven’t won a SCIAC title since I think the 80s, so that would be pretty crazy for us,” Terdiman said “But we have a really strong, deep team this year. So I think mainly my focus is going to be on our team goal and seeing if we can fill out the win.”
P-P and CMS teams will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 2 for the SCIAC Championships in Brea, CA.
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