Fordham University Men’s Cross Country competed at the Atlantic 10 Championship at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Virginia, on Saturday, Nov. 2. The team finished 10th in a field of 15 teams with a score of 307 points. The championship title was claimed by Massachusetts with a score of 36 points.

The Rams were led by senior runner Nathan Bezuneh, whose time of 25:00:10 in the 8K course earned him 34th place in the event along with a season-best time. Other top finishers included sophomore Sean Reidy and senior Rodolfo Sanchez, who earned 60th and 63rd places with times of 25:22:40 and 25:25:00, respectively. Other finishers for the Rams were Bradford Duchesne in 71st, Darren Croke in 95th, Tadael Mihret in 102nd, Aidan Hickey in 110th, John Corrigan in 111th, Matthew Febles in 117th and Lucas Rohde in 128th.

On the women’s side, the Rams finished 13th out of 15 teams with a score of 328 points.

Leading the women was graduate student Katarina Birimac, who finished second overall in the 6K course in 20:31:90 to earn All-Conference honors. She is only the fourth Fordham woman to earn All-Atlantic 10 honors in cross country, joining Claudine Kelly (1995), Brigid Moriarty (2008) and Angelina Grebe (2018). Her second-place finish was also the highest-ever for a Fordham women’s runner, besting Kelly’s third-place finish in 1995. 

She was followed by sophomore Sarah Zahaykevich who finished in 71st with a time of 22:14:60. Other finishers for the Rams included Kate Meeks in 87th, Sophia Viscon in 114th, Megan McCann in 119th, Sophia Oliva in 122nd, Lauren Raimy in 124th, Grace Kenny in 127th and Brenna Sears in 131st.

In terms of what is ahead for XC, the Rams will next be in action on Friday, Nov. 15, at the NCAA Northeast Regional, which will be held at Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Contoocook, New Hampshire.