WashU’s women’s and men’s cross country teams placed 10th and 15th respectively in a 32-team field at the 2024 NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana on Nov. 23. Graduate-student Cullen Capuano was the Bears’ top finisher and an All-American.

WashU took to the Coogan XC Course in Attleboro, Massachusetts for the 2024 conference championships, where both the men’s team and women’s team delivered strong performances and earned podium finishes. Competing against some of the top programs in the nation, the Bears demonstrated both depth and resilience, as each team secured third place and laid the groundwork for a promising NCAA postseason.

Both teams will begin their season on Sep. 7 with an Alumni Intrasquad Meet and begin collegiate competition on Sep. 21 at the John McNichols Invite in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Over the weekend, the #17 Washington University men’s cross country team finished 17th place at this year’s NCAA Division III country championship meet, while the No. 13 women’s team finished 13th overall.  Senior Alexandra Blake finished first for the Bears and 28th overall in the 6,000-meter race with a time of 21:37.10. Both Capuano and Blake’s performance earned them All-American honors.

Emily Konkus is a senior athlete on Washington University’s women’s cross country team. Konkus serves as one of the co-captains of the team, and was the highest-place finisher for the team at the UAA Championships — one of many collegiate career highlights for the athlete.

WashU’s men’s cross country team and women’s cross country team kicked off the first UAA conference championships of the fall, building anticipation for further postseason competition.

The No. 14 WashU men finished behind only No. 1 Wartburg College and upset rival No. 9 North Central College, in their best team performance of the year, while the No. 4 women came in second to No. 3 Wartburg and ahead of No. 7 University of Chicago.

Head coach Jeff Stiles had nothing but praise for both of the teams after their thorough wins, commending their performance as “phenomenal.” 

In the days leading up to the championship, Student Life interviewed graduate student Kiera Olson, who has been one of several key scorers for the Bears this fall.

Despite often flying under the radar, WashU’s men’s and women’s cross country teams have been the school’s most consistent teams in recent years.