Women’s and men’s cross country each finished second place at the Cantello Invitational hosted by Navy in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday. 

The women ran in the 5K and 6K against six other schools, where four Revolutionaries secured top ten finishes in the 5K and three in the 6K. Three Revs earned top ten finishes in the men’s 5K.

Both teams participated on Aug. 30 in the Big East Preview, their season-opener in Leesburg, Virginia, where the women finished first in the 5K and the men closed in last out of two teams in the 6K, falling to Georgetown. 

Junior Sarah Mitchell said the victory in the Big East Preview showed the women’s team the need to persevere through challenges together, a tough mindset that they will carry for the rest of the season. 

“The win can help us to have momentum from now on and I think it has reminded us of the importance of digging deep through tough courses and conditions,” Mitchell said. “I also think it set the bar for a ‘running for each other’ mentality among the girls that we channeled last year and one that we can continue to use this season.”

During Saturday’s Cantello Invitational, the women’s team attained first in the 5K open team result against Navy and Millersville in the 5K race, with four runners earning top ten finishes.

The women’s finished behind Georgetown in the 6K run, where they contested with the Hoyas, Navy, Davis & Elkins, UMBC, Catholic, Millersville, Hampton, Frostburg State and Stevenson. 

During the men’s 5K, the Revolutionaries earned second in the open team competition after going head-to-head against host Navy. In the 4.9-mile run, GW also finished behind Navy after racing against Navy, Davis & Elkins, George Mason, UMBC, McDaniel, Frostburg State and Stevenson.

Graduate student Pierce Kapustka and freshman Jimmy Gildea clinched gold and silver in the 5K with times of 16:15.85 minutes and 16:16.54 minutes, respectively. 

Junior Michael Bohlke, who earned first out of 78 in the men’s 4.9 mile run with a time of 24.25.0, said the addition of five new distance runners has strengthened the team, allowing them to compete at a higher level.

“The addition of five new people to the cross country roster has changed the dynamic of the team in that we are stronger than we have ever been,” Bohlke said. “The team is full of people that love the sport and want to take this team as far as possible this season.”

Bohlke said the freshmen and new runners on both teams have fostered a great relationship with the team which has helped them secure a strong start to the season.

“Our freshmen this year have adjusted extremely well,” Bohlke said. “It can be seen in their race performances and in their workouts, keeping up with people in their second, third, even fourth year of competition for GW.”

In the men’s 4.9-mile run, Bohlke claimed first place with a time of 24:25:00 minutes. Juniors Jacob Heredia and Austin Brotemarkle were hot on the heels of Bohlke with times of 25:06:4 minutes and 25:07.3 minutes, respectively. 

“A lot of people were looking forward to getting into a larger race and improving upon our performance from last year,” Bohlke said. “That is exactly what we did; the team race was much closer than last year, Pierce won the open 5K event and I won the 4.9 mile race.”

In the women’s 5K race, freshman Hadley Mahoney closed in third place with a time of 19:34:5 minutes, with sophomore Lola Dinneen, freshman Claire Bohan and junior Ashley Robinson following closely behind with times of 20:06 minutes, 20:20.21 minutes and 20:47 minutes, respectively.

In the women’s 6K run, Mitchell led the event for the Revs and finished in sixth place with a time of 22:11.60 minutes. Freshman Amelia Ogawa finished the race in eighth place with a time of 22:53.90 minutes. 

“It was also important to understand that this course is challenging and to not focus on the time we run, and instead focus on placement and scoring,” Mitchell said. 

Mitchell said the women have nurtured team bonding experiences that established a close-knit team chemistry.

“Building a team spirit is also important,” Mitchell said. “I bought some bows that we can wear during races to contribute to a sense of pride and unity. Our team is very talented and I think fostering a sense of team unity will make all the difference in our performances.”

The Revolutionaries will return Oct. 4 for the ECU Pirate Invite in Greenville, North Carolina.