The New York University women's cross country team opened the 2026 season on Saturday, Sep. 12 at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational, hosted by Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. 

The Violets placed their five scoring runners in the top six, winning the team race with 20 points. Host Vassar (41 pts) and Union College (93 pts) rounded out the top three. 

Newcomer Georgia Bass (18:40.7) led the way for the Violets, taking second place overall. Vassar's Haley Schoenegge (18:23.2) was the top individual finisher.

"A phenomenal job from this group today," said Associate Head Coach Nic Jacobsen. "We felt like this was a really good opportunity to test our youth and depth. A big group of underclassmen got valuable experience against a quality field."

NYU's top five finishers all finished in order, with Bass in second, Elena Gehrke (19:01.6) in third, Olivia May (19:04.3) in fourth, Eliza Dickie (19:04.6) in fifth, and Rianna Tandon (19:06.5) in sixth.

The Violets will head back to training before traveling to Pennsylvania for the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University, on Oct. 2.