Cross Country Ivy Heps sees six Quakers earn All-Ivy honors

Last weekend, Penn cross country headed to Boston to compete in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, held at Franklin Park. Despite both the men's and women's teams each finishing fifth overall — the women scored 99 points and the men 108 — both squads were highlighted by excellent individual performances. 

On the women's side, senior Maeve Stiles came in first among Quakers and fourth overall, completing the six kilometer course in a swift 20:47.6 time. Close on her heels was fellow senior Liv Morganti, who finished sixth with a time of 20:53.3, securing her a first-team honor. Sophomore Lily Murphy added to the Quakers' success by taking 11th place in a time of 21:18.2, resulting in a second-team All-Ivy appearance. 

In the men's race, junior Dylan Throop was in the led for the first half of the 8K course, before falling slightly behind and surging back to the front of the pack in the final two kilometers. But at the finish line, he ultimately finished second at 23:55.2, missing out on first place by a mere eight seconds and earning a first-team All-Ivy honor. 

“Although I was so close to a bigger victory, I am still blessed to have found myself where I am”, Throop said.

Behind Throop, junior Luke Johnson and sophomore Sahil Dodda finished 12th and 13th with times of 24:28.9 and 24:29.5, respectively. Both runners garnered second-team All-Ivy nods with their performances. 

Now, with the conference season concluded, the Quakers are now turning their focus to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, which will take place this upcoming Friday. Just like Franklin Park — where Penn also ran in the Battle in Beantown last month — this course will be familiar to the Quakers, having already competed there twice this season. 

“It’s a pivotal point for our entire season," coach Steve Dolan said. "We really hope to make the absolute best of it.”