Penn senior cross country runner Dylan Throop earns All-American honors at NCAA Championships

Over the weekend, senior men's cross country runner Dylan Throop earned All-American honors through his 27th place finish in the 10K at the NCAA Cross Country Championships held in Madison, Wis. 

The Edinboro, Pa. native finished in a personal-best time 29:19.6 for his first career All-American honors, becoming the first Quakers runner since 2015 to achieve cross country All-American honors. 

November has been a big month for Throop. Last week, at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, Throop rallied in the final 1200 meters to finish with a time of 29:41.3 to move up to third place, qualifying him for the NCAA Championships. 

Teammate and junior cross country runner Luke Johnson finished just behind him in sixth. Just a few weeks prior, Throop finished runner-up in program-record-breaking fashion in the 8K at the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships. Throop was second to Harvard’s Graham Blanks who took home the national title this past weekend. 

This season has been a big breakthrough on the cross country scene for Throop, who finished second at last year’s edition of the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships but did not compete at NCAAs. The senior has many accolades on the indoor and outdoor track, including program records in the indoor 5K and outdoor 10K set in 2023. The senior notably did not compete in the 2024 indoor season and did not finish his only race of the 2024 outdoor season. 

This past weekend Throop was also joined by Johnson who crossed the finish line in 188th with a time 30:39.31. The two were the Red and Blue’s sole representatives for men’s and women’s cross country. 

Distance running is notably not a single season sport, and many distance runners will continue to compete in the upcoming indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. The Quakers open their indoor track season with the Penn Opener at the brand new Ott Center for Track and Field on Dec. 6-7.