Record-Breaking Season for Columbia College Cross Country Teams in 2023

COLUMBIA, SC- The fall of 2023 will go down in the record books for the Columbia College Cross Country programs. 

This fall saw records set, first-time victories, and so much more for the program.

The Men's team, in just its third year of existence, saw the first and second meet victories. The first came on October 13, when the Koalas took the top place at the Livingstone College Invitational. At that meet, the Koalas took first in a field of six with a total time of 2:24:37, a score of 23.

Eventual All-Freshman Team member Cayden Chance placed first of 51 runners. The freshman from Moncks Corner finished the 8K in an impressive 27:37.9 (a 5:33.5 avg. mile); he was a solid five seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from the host school. A pair of freshman Koalas joined their teammate in the top 10 as Harold Nolan and William Bull claimed fourth and sixth, respectively. Sophomore Austin Major (17th) took a top-20 finish at 30:36.1.

The Koalas would earn their second meet victory at the Bob Jones Invitational later that month. Kadeen Reeder claimed the top spot at 26:30.6; the team took first with a total time of 2:17:35. Cayden Chance took second, while Dorde Racic (7) and Patrick Timmerman (10) rounded out the top ten finishes for the Koalas.

The Men would eventually claim seventh place at the AAC Championship race; Chance also posted a new 8k school record at 26:00.39. They will send Kristian Sanchez, Patrick Timmerman, Kaden Reeder, and team captain Dorde Racic to the NAIA Marathon National Championship on December 3 in Sacramento, California.

The Women's Team posted another extremely successful season and saw newcomers step up and records fall.

As a team, the Women won the Bob Jones Invite and placed in the top five of nearly every event they set foot at, including a third-place finish at the Livingstone College Invite.

Sophomore Angel Kravitz etched her name in school history at the AAC Championship meet by besting the previous record in the 6k by 11 seconds. She would eventually finish 155th of 331 racers at the NAIA National Championship race in Vancouver, WA. 

The Freshman duo of Carly Fuel and Addison Martin seemingly always found their way to the top of the leaderboard throughout the year, culminating in an All-Freshman team year for the pair and a trip to the NAIA National Championship race. Both standouts took a top-300 finish, with Martin placing 269th while Fuel claimed 296th. 

The Women will send Ainhoa Colino, Kravitz, and team captain Mina Shull to the first-ever NAIA Marathon National Championship on December 3 in Sacramento, California.