Cross Country Runs Strong at Hornet Harrier

Winchester, Va. – Christendom College Cross Country turned in a gritty performance at the 16th Annual Hornet Harrier Invitational on Saturday at the historic Kernstown Battlefield, with both the men's and women's squads placing in the top five of the team standings.

On the women's side, the Crusaders finished 5th overall (110 pts), led by freshman Grace Kristine, who crossed the line in 30:14.2 to claim 19th place. She was followed closely by Jadzia Hamm in 21st (30:52.4) and Myri Parsons in 23rd (32:06.2). Rounding out the scoring five, Lily Bettcher placed 29th (33:14.1) and Lillian Mayville took 30th (33:20.6), with the group averaging 31:58 for the 6k course.

The men's team secured a strong 4th-place finish (112 pts) against a competitive field. Senior Alexander Girata led the charge with a stellar 11th-place finish (22:01.4), less than 90 seconds off the overall winner. He was joined in the top 20 by Robert Wright, who clocked 22:51.3 for 16th place, and Joseph Beerer, who finished 22nd in 23:24.8. Thomas Cahill contributed with a 27th-place finish (23:48.2), while Peter Hornbek closed out the scoring at 45th (32:33.6).

The Hornet Harrier marked another step forward for the program as Christendom continues to build depth on both sides.

Christendom will return to action next weekend as they prepare for their next test of the 2025 campaign.