Two Division I college cross-country teams from the D.C. area, one a women’s squad and the other men’s, recently won conference championships with dominating performances.
The Howard Bison women won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title for the second straight year and third time since 2022. The consecutive crowns were Howard’s first since the 2002-03 seasons.
On the men’s side, the Georgetown Hoyas finished first in the Big East Conference championships for the first time since 2018.
Both teams won by placing their top five runners in the top 10.
Howard runners finished second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh, scoring a low 23 team points. The Georgetown men tallied 10 more with 33, with their runners placing third, fourth, seventh, ninth and 10th.
For Howard, sophomore Alexis Jones and junior Mira Martin led the way, placing second (18:36.70) and third (18:53.00), respectively. Next, juniors Ester Kirk, Chloe Poindexter and Kylee King placed fifth (19:16.80), sixth (19:17.80) and seventh (19:18.50), respectively, while freshman Breeya Conwell was ninth (19:38.30).
In addition, senior Sarah Seam and junior Kendall Robinson closed out the top 15, grabbing 12th (20:02.40) and 15th (20:17.60), respectively, and freshman Esther Nelson was 16th (20:21.6).
As a result of the team’s strong showing, Howard head coach Dameon Morgan was named the conference’s outstanding coach.
Leading the Georgetown men with top-five finishes were senior Birhanu Harriman in third (23:09.5) and graduate student Joe O’Brien in fourth (23:20.2).
Graduate student Luke Ondracek was seventh (23:29.8), with unior Quinn Parrish ninth (23:42.8) and graduate student Daniel Winter 10th (23:43.3).
“That was an excellent team win for the men,” Georgetown head men’s cross-country coach Brandon Bonsey said. “They executed to perfection.”
Another local Division I team having a strong performance was the fourth-place Georgetown women in the Big East. Leading the Hoyas was individual winner Barrett Justema in a cross-country personal-best time of 19:31.5.
The senior was Georgetown’s seventh conference individual women’s champion in program history.
Justema “managed a highly capable front contingent of racers and navigated the course with a savvy level of proficiency,” head Georgetown women’s cross-country coach Mitchell Baker said.
In the Atlantic 10 Conference meet, the George Washington University women placed third, led by a third-place individual finish by junior Hadley Mahoney in 20:32.
In the Atlantic 10 men’s race, the George Mason University men finished fourth, with junior Biruk Beardsley leading the way in third in 23:35.
