Alex Weiss/Sports Editor/aweiss@mail.smcvt.edu
This past Friday, Sept. 22, St. Michael’s College and University of Vermont raced against one another in the Second Annual Equality Invitational.
In this race both the men’s and women’s teams run the same distance: 8 kilometers (5 miles).
Vermont’s James Cilwik 26’ had the best time, running the entire race in 25:45.3 minutes, and an average minute per mile at 5:17 / mile.
Vermont would take the first seven spots in the race, and St. Michael’s College senior Noah Taracena placed eighth with a time of 26:22.6 and a pace of 5:25 / mile.
In the women’s side, Vermont again took the top spot with Clare Kelly 25’ time of 31:12.1 and pace of 6:24 / mile.
However, St. Michael’s College had more success in the women’s side: Tess Drury 27’ finished second with a time of 31:18.2 and a pace of 6:26 / mile.
The point of this race is to prove that women can run the same distance as men.
Normally women run a 5k while the men run an 8k, so having both run the same distance does not happen in the National Collegiate Athletics Association.
To learn more about Cross Country Head Coach and her journey to making this one off event an eventual norm, (LINK TO EQUAL DISTANCE FOR ALL)
Photos by Alex Weiss.
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country run in the second Equality Invitation alongside the University of Vermont on Sept. 22, 2023.