PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 21 Penn State women’s cross country team finished fourth overall at the Princeton Fall Classic Friday morning, while the men’s team placed eighth. Florence Caron’s spectacular third-overall finish pushed the women’s group to take down two ranked opponents in a highly competitive meet.
“It was a beautiful day for racing at Princeton today,” said Head Coach John Gondak. “The women had a great pack today and really worked together as a team. The men really closed well, knocking almost 50 points off their score over the last 3k to move up to 8th. Both groups are excited to head into the postseason next!”
WOMEN’S 6K RACE
The No. 21 Nittany Lion women put on an excellent display in their final regular season race, finishing fourth overall (128 pts) while taking down No. 23 Syracuse (13th, 389 pts) and No. 25 Villanova (5th, 141 pts) in a battle of nationally-ranked talent. Once again, Caron posted a top-three individual finish among phenomenal competition to help her team’s placement.
Caron finished third overall with a blazing 19:25.1 mark, a time over 30 seconds faster than her previous 6K best. 800-meter All-American Hayley Kitching finished as Penn State’s second finisher across the line, setting a PR herself with a 20:17.8 effort. Maddie Ullom (20:22.7) and Sophia Toti (20:25.2) came through in 31st and 32nd, respectively, while Lea Hatcher delivered a personal-best 20:25.9 for 35th overall.
No. 9 Georgetown (59 pts) took the team title, with No. 10 Providence (65 pts), and No. 16 North Carolina (120 pts) finishing ahead of the Nittany Lions (128 pts) in fourth.
Penn State Women’s Top Seven Results (4th – 128 pts):
Place (Points) Runner Time
3 (3) Florence Caron 19:25.1
27 (27) Hayley Kitching 20:17.8
31 (31) Maddie Ullom 20:22.7
32 (32) Sophia Toti 20:25.2
35 (35) Lea Hatcher 20:25.9
38 Claire Daniels 20:32.1
44 Ada Rand 20:40.9
MEN’S 8K RACE
The Nittany Lion men, once again led by the trio of Nick Sloff, Jake Allen, and Brian DiCola, placed eighth at the Princeton Fall Classic in a solid conclusion to the 2024 regular season. Four of the top five Penn State runners hit 8K PRs in the race.
Sloff placed 21st overall with a 23:22.2 PR, followed by Allen (40th, 23:43.3) and DiCola (41st, 23:43.9 PR). Ryan Watson (61st, 23:59.4 PR) and Brendan Flynn (69th, 24:04.5 PR) also set personal-best marks, rounding out the Nittany Lions’ top-five finishers.
No. 19 Villanova won the men’s team title with 70 points, followed by Georgetown (87 pts), and the host, No. 17 Princeton (92 pts).
Penn State Men’s Top Seven Results (8th - 222 pts):
Place (Points) Runner Time
21 (21) Nick Sloff 23:22.2
40 (39) Jake Allen 23:43.3
41 (40) Brian DiCola 23:43.9
61 (57) Ryan Watson 23:59.4
69 (65) Brendan Flynn 24:05.5
80 Caiden Leen 24:10.1
101 Justin Healey 24:23.2
WHAT’S NEXT
Penn State begins its postseason slate with a trip to Champaign, Illinois for the 2024 Big Ten Cross Country Championships on November 1.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).