Cornell University's men's cross country team will carry its first national ranking since 1992 into Saturday's Ivy League Heptagonal Championships in Providence, Rhode Island.
The No. 30 Big Red will race at noon Oct. 31 on the 8-kilometer Mark Coogan Cross Country Course at Highland Park. Brown is hosting the championship, according to Cornell's meet preview.
The Ithaca team enters the championship portion of its season ranked 30th by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Cornell last appeared in the national rankings in 1992, when it reached No. 19 and went on to finish 19th at the NCAA championships. The Big Red received votes without reaching the rankings in 2024, 2015, 2014 and 2004.
Building on four straight top-three finishes
Cornell placed third at the 2025 Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in New York, scoring 92 points behind Princeton's 32 and Harvard's 46.
That result was the Big Red's fourth consecutive top-three finish at the meet.
Griffin Mandirola led Cornell in his Heps debut last year, placing 10th in 24 minutes, 42.4 seconds. Aryan Abbaraju finished 14th in 24:49.6, followed by Matthew O'Brien in 17th at 25:02.4.
Peyton Shute placed 25th in 25:34.6, and Tyler Canaday was 31st in 25:43.1 to complete Cornell's scoring five.
Live results for Saturday's race will be available through Leone Timing. Championship information is available on the Ivy League's meet page.
Cornell women race at 11 a.m.
Cornell's women's team will run the 6-kilometer championship at 11 a.m., one hour before the men's race, according to the university's women's meet preview.
The women bring a young roster with three seniors — Emma O'Day, Maisie McManus and Kate Ahmari — and a five-member freshman class.
Coach Mike Henderson said the goal is to close the gap on teams ahead of Cornell and move into the top half of the conference standings.
“It's going to take a full team effort to do well,” Henderson said.
Cornell finished sixth at last year's Heps meet with 115 points, 12 behind third-place Columbia. Princeton won with 27 points, followed by Yale with 82 and Columbia with 103.
McManus returns after placing 19th in 21:53.1. Other returning scorers include Evelyn Prodoehl, 29th in 22:03.3; Kinga Czajkowska, 32nd in 22:09.9; and Hannah Kersten, 34th in 22:15.2.
Juniors Tenley Nelson, Fiona Lee and Lucia Werner also return. Freshmen including Huntley Buckingham and Sophia Juanes-Soto add to the group.
Henderson said the returning sophomores have grown in confidence and strength, while the team's energy and support for one another remain important parts of its approach.
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