The New York University women's cross country team captured its first-ever University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship on Saturday, October 28, at the Squire Valleevue Farm XC Course in Hunting Valley, OH.
The Violets, who came into the race ranked #5 in the nation, placed four runners among the top nine and five among the top 14 including race winner Grace Richardson .
NYU, which finished in second place three times (2011-13) but had never taken home the title, totaled 34 points to upend #1-ranked University of Chicago by 12 points.
Third-place finishers at the 2022 UAA Championship, NYU received Coaching Staff of the Year honors following Saturday's first-ever UAA Championship.
Richardson, a second-year graduate student who placed fourth at last year's UAA Championship, led the 74-runner pack with a time of 21:34.5 over the 6k course.
"Grace has been our leader all year long. She's taken a huge jump from a year ago and I couldn't be more thrilled for her," said Head Coach Tyler Deck Shipley. "She hung tough throughout the race, took the lead about halfway through and just kept pressing."
Freshman Morgan Uhlhorn, who was named UAA Rookie of the Year, finished fourth in a time of 21:50.1. She was followed by sophomore Viv Kane, who crossed the line in 21:59.6 for seventh place.
Graduate student Katherine Cochran finished fourth for the Violets, placing ninth overall in a time of 22:09.2. Sophomore Janie Cooper rounded out the scorers, finishing 14th (22:46.5).
"We are in a state of shock," Cooper said. "It's very surreal to have won a meet with this level of competition. We talked in the huddle right before the gun went off, and one thing we focused on was just doing it for each other, and that's exactly what we did."
Providing depth were freshman Olivia Jackson, who finished 18th (22:54.1) and sophomore Lucy Gott, who crossed the line close behind in 22:55.7 for 21st place.
"Janie really stepped up and our other finishers helped provide the depth we needed to win," Deck Shipley added. "It was a gutsy performance. Chicago closed hard and we dug our heels deep. Winning something like this for the first time is really difficult. We are definitely creating a new culture with all the hard work we've put in."
Currently ranked #1 in the NCAA Niagara Region, the Violets return to action for the NCAA Niagara Regional Championship on Saturday, November 11, in Houghton, NY
