SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. — Amidst farmland and fairground, Bard XC put together a historic performance over flat grass, under a rainy sky, against the forest and the future. First-year recruits led the charge again, and Bard clocked shocking average times in a midseason showdown against some of the best in the country.

Head Coach Brody Smith said about the powerful effort: "It takes a lot of confidence to race at the level of our fitness, which we did for the first time this year. The first time they've gone those distances, they've really stepped up to the plate. You gotta take a swing, you can't just sit in the box and hope to get a walk. Today we made contact."

Women raced first, led by the pair of first-years Luca Foty and Ceili Irving. Foty blazed out the beginning, starting in a competitive 55th place and splitting 3:46.4 through the first kilometer. She pushed through the rest of the race to finish in 24:08.3, beating Natasha Cameron's 2021 mark of 24:44 to become the third-fastest Bard athlete of all time.

She had this to say about her effort: "It was really hard. I've never thought about dropping out of a race so many times. At 4k, I almost yelled to Brody, 'I'm done!' This shouldn't be hurting this much. But, I was on the pace I wanted to be, so I said whatever!"

Irving's story was similar, through the first kilometer in 3:53.8, but she found another gear during the fourth kilometer, moving up three places. She finished in 24:30.3 to be Bard's second scorer at 100th place, and the new fourth-fastest in history, saying, "I just trust my fitness, I know that my body is capable, I don't panic, stay calm and go with them."

Anna Shtandenko has been racing back into form, and she showed shades of her dominant self, being the only Bard runner to gain places over the race. Coming through the first kilometer at 117th place, she picked up 10 places by the end, running a personal-best 24:44.3 for 107th.

Rounding out the scoring, Emma St Peter and Alex Laskowski paced together again, with Laskowski running incredibly even splits and St Peter starting faster. St Peter crossed the line in 27:00.5, with Laskowski just behind in 27:12.1, good for 141st and 145th, respectively.

Kai Roper ran a very consistent race, not dropping any places after 3k, finishing the race in 28:16.6 for 152nd, which was a personal best. Bard Women scored 385 points for 13th place out of 16 teams, and pushed Gillian Adkins and Sorrell Dunn (24:51 and 25:02) off the top-five all-time list.

On the men's side, Colin Buttitta continued to lead the charge in Elijah Flynn's absence. Buttitta got out hard, per Coach Brody's instruction, splitting 3:12.9 for his first kilometer. Just behind him at this point was first-year companion Chris Eskrett, at 3:13.4, followed by juniors Calvin Thomas and Charlie Grenadier, at 3:18.8 and 3:20.3, respectively.

Buttitta proved to be the best at holding on today. Though he dropped 57 places over the following seven kilometers, he finished in 27:44.7 and 143rd place, making the top ten all-time and only five seconds away from being in the top five all-time for the 8k.
Buttitta, after the race, explained how he stays focused for 27 minutes: "I know that I can stay, keep my mind on the next, don't be too hard about it, I can find that 2nd gear, pass the people who passed me."

Following him was Grenadier, who found six runners to pass in the sixth kilometer and got through the line in a personal-best 28:00.7 for 151st place. Eskrett was next, running 28:10.1 over eight kilometers for 159th place, making Bard's top 15 all-time.

Thomas dropped 35 places between the first and second kilometer and couldn't find anything for the rest of the race, finishing in 30:08.4 for 185th place. Hameed Azad ran great today to finish out the scoring group, running a personal-best 31:24.1 for 202nd place with very even splits, a testament to his consistency.

Johnny Henriquez was the sixth and final runner on the men's side, and the only to gain places in the final kilometer. He ran a personal-best 31:50.4 for 205th place, saying, "this was perhaps the rawest form of running we could've experienced," referring to the perfect conditions and flat course.

Bard scored 386 points for 12th place out of 15 teams.

For the first time in two years, there are new names in the Cross Country record books. The pair of first-years have been written in, in just their third race and their first full-length race. Luca Foty and Ceili Irving will certainly find their way to the top of that list one day, but Bard XC remains trained on the present.

They are 12 places away from first on the women's side, and 11 from first on the men's. The team's improvement is only a testament to the composure, mentality and presence of the athletes. Just before the 8k, Calvin Thomas preaches about the ever-present moment to the group on the edge of history.

Bard XC returns in two weeks, on October 10th at 11 a.m., for the Hamilton Invitational in Clinton, New York.

WXC 
Luca Foty 24:03.8
Ceili Irving 24:30.3
Anna Shtandenko 24:44.3
Emma St Peter 27:00.5 
Alex Laskowski 27:12.1
Kai Roper 28:16.6

MXC 
Colin Buttitta 27:44.7
Charles Grenadier 28:00.7
Chris Eskrett 28.10.1
Calvin Thomas 30:08.4
Hameed Azad 31:24.1
Johnny Henriquez 31:50.4