On a humid October weekend, CC’s top ten male and female runners flew out to Rock Island, Ill., to compete at the annual Augustana Interregional Invitational cross country meet on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Tigers raced against other top schools like Pomona-Pitzer College, Washington University, The University of Chicago and Wartburg College.
Hundreds of spectators cheered for schools all across the country. Hosted by Augustana College, the race took place at a golf course with some challenging hills.
The men’s 8K race began at 11 a.m. Will Shuflit ‘27 led the pack early on, followed by senior Rabbit Barnes and freshman Lincoln Brewer. The CC men finished eleventh overall with a score of 332 points. Shuflit secured a third-place win with a time of 24:07.5. Barnes was the second Tiger across the finish line, running a season-best time of 25:29.6 and placing 59th. CC’s third finisher was Vincent Mangat ‘28, who ran a 25:33.1 and was followed by Axel Klomparens ‘26 and Brewer to round out the team’s top five scorers.
The women’s 6K started at 11:45 a.m., with Alison Mueller-Hickler ‘26 moving to the front of the pack early. The women largely ran together in smaller groups to keep pace, and ultimately placed fifth overall with 205 points. Mueller-Hickler finished third in 21:43.3. Close behind her was junior Charlie Flint in sixth with a personal record of 21:53.9. Abby Goodfried ‘26 was next in 55th place with a time of 22:57.4. Ellie Ottem ‘29 ran a 23:12.8 and Brooktie Frogge ‘26 finished in 23:13.3.
Former Tiger Sydney Rankin ‘25 joined the crowd to cheer on her old teammates as they raced, encouraging and supporting. This was the last meet CCXC will compete in before SCAC regionals on Nov. 1 in Houston, Texas.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect Alison Mueller-Hickler’s correct time and to format every participant’s scores more precisely.