Pierre Attiogbe earned an individual berth in the NCAA cross-country championships Friday, finishing fifth as Cornell’s men placed third at the Northeast Regional in Bethpage, New York.
The senior completed the 10-kilometer course in 30 minutes, 26.1 seconds, according to Cornell Athletics’ recap. The Big Red scored 89 points against a 41-team field in cold, rainy conditions and will learn Saturday whether the team receives an at-large invitation to nationals.
Four Cornell runners finish in top 25
Junior Griffin Mandirola was Cornell’s second finisher, taking 15th in 30:46.9. Senior Aryan Abbaraju followed in 17th at 30:48.5, and freshman Alex Mazzeo placed 21st in 30:57.7.
Senior Matthew O’Brien completed Cornell’s scoring five in 31st place with a time of 31:33.1. The five scorers averaged 30:54.
Freshman Krish Desai finished 36th in 31:39.7, while fellow freshman Anthony Anatol took 65th in 32:09.7, completing Cornell’s seven-runner contingent.
Syracuse captured the team championship with 49 points. Harvard finished second with 72, and Cornell held a 27-point advantage over fourth-place Iona. Hofstra sophomore Fredrick Kipkosgei won the individual title in 30:11.0.
Cornell awaits team selection
Harvard and Cornell were the first two Ivy League teams across the line in the team standings. Yale finished 12th overall with 405 points, followed by Brown in 17th with 528, Dartmouth in 19th with 576 and Columbia in 27th with 708.
The regional followed Cornell’s runner-up finish at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships two weeks earlier. That result was the program’s best at Heps since 2014.
Attiogbe’s next race is the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. Saturday’s at-large selections will determine whether Cornell’s full team joins him.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.