The UConn women’s cross country team wrapped up its regular season slate on Saturday while competing at the Pre-Nationals Invitational meet hosted by the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
The team finished 27th out of 33 schools in a highly competitive field, which featured over a dozen regionally ranked teams and many schools the Huskies will see again before the season concludes.
Chloe Thomas continued her sterling senior season by finishing fifth overall in the women’s 6K Run CC Championship and setting her 6K personal record with a time of 19:11.8. Thomas’ fifth-place finish is her lowest of the season, but her personal best (for the season) was shattered 12 seconds exactly. She finished first among Big East athletes, with second-place conference finisher Jenna Zydanowicz finishing 34th with a time of 20:05.5, respectively.
Thomas also finished first among competitors from the Huskies’ region (Northeast Region), with fellow top five ranked teams Syracuse (No. 2) and Boston College (No. 3) also competing in Madison on Saturday.
Zydanowicz finished just five seconds above 20 minutes and was a part of the bottleneck from 24th to 41st place, which saw all competitors finish within 10 seconds of each other. Zydanowicz’s time of 20:05.5 is a season’s personal best by just under two seconds but 8 seconds shy of her career best of 19:57.7, set at the Arturo Barrios Invite in October of last season.
The duo of Thomas and Zydanowicz is one of the Big East’s and Northeast’s best, with both runners fully capable of competing at the top of the conference championship race on Nov. 2.
The third-placing Husky was senior Caroline Towle, finishing 134th overall with a time of 20:53.5. Her third race of the season was short of her personal and season’s best of 20:14. Towle will have at least one more opportunity to run on Nov. 2 when the team competes in the Big East Cross Country Championships.
Malin Rahm finished 198th overall with a time of 21:23.6, leading the pack from 198th to 206th who all finished within six seconds of each other. Rahm has run three times in 2024, finishing within an 11 second range in all three races.
The next three Huskies to finish were sophomore Chloe Trudel (21:49.8), junior Madison Relyea (21:50.2) and senior Rachael Woodruff (21:54.4). All three runners finished within five seconds and seven places of each other.
The final Husky to finish was sophomore Loghan Hughes, clocking in at 22:31.2 (247). Hughes will also have at least one extra chance to compete in 2024 during the Big East Championships.
Brigham Young finished first overall with an average of 19:52 and a score of 105 (52 points ahead of second place Washington). The Cougars’ top finisher came in ninth when Lexy Halladay-Lowry finished with a time of 19:33.4.
Fellow Northeast Regional teams Syracuse and Boston College finished 15th and 20th, respectively. The Huskies finished within seven seconds of the Orange and Eagles in terms of team average.
The Huskies will compete next on Nov. 2 when they will travel to Leesburg, Va. to race in the Big East Cross Country Championships.