The Muhlenberg cross country teams showed that they are peaking at the right time, with 12 of their 13 competitors recording career or season bests at the Centennial Conference Championships.

The women finished in seventh place, their best showing since the 2018 team came in fifth. The Mules' 212 team points were a big improvement from the 248 they scored at last year's CC meet, when they came in ninth.

Senior Jem Berney led Muhlenberg by placing 27th, the best finish by a Muhlenberg runner since 2021. Berney's time of 23:03.5 was a huge personal best, topping their previous record of 23:37, and ranks 14th on the Mules' all-time performance list. Berney (pictured above left) moved up throughout the race, from 33rd at the mile mark to 28th at three miles to their final place of 27th.

Junior Maggie Holderith (Muhlenberg's second finisher), junior Ava Lundy (fourth), freshman Ava Azzinnari (fifth), and seniors Katie Shepard (seventh), and Lydia Jenkins-Ford (eighth) all ran personal bests, while senior Julia Tassone (sixth) notched a season-best time. Holderith finished 45th in the race, a big jump from her 68th-place showing of a year ago. 

Junior Ella Borello, the Mules' third finisher, beat the third runners from Ursinus and McDaniel, the two teams immediately behind Muhlenberg in the team standings, by at least 10 places.

Three of the five runners for the men were competing at the CC Championships for the first time, and all three - freshmen Niklas Haraldsson and Alex Stefaniak and sophomore Jake Restivo - set personal bests. Stefaniak (pictured above right) took more than 27 seconds off his previous top mark.

Senior Andrew Smolowitz led the Mules by finishing 64th with a season-best time, while junior TJ Cook Jr., Muhlenberg's third finisher, set a PR.

complete results: women | men