Meet: Spider Alumni Open
Location: Mechanicsville, Va. (Pole Green Park)
Distance: 6k (3.73 miles)
Team Scoring: 1- Virginia (16), 2- William & Mary (80), 3- Richmond (89), 4- American (95), 5- George Mason (121), 6- VCU (154), 7- Christopher Newport (202), 8- Longwood (215), 9- Mary Washington (257), 10- VMI (310), 11- Hampton (350), 12- St. Mary's (Md.) (356), 13- Virginia State (369)
The Short Story: Freshman Jonathan Hess capped an impressive collegiate debut with a 7th-place finish to lead the Rams in their first race of 2025.
THE FINISH LINE
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Jonathan Hess led all freshmen in the race with a 18:10.7 finish
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The 7th-place finish for Hess was the best individual finish for VCU in the Spider Alumni Open since 2017, when Bryce Cutlett placed 3rd
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In his VCU Cross Country debut, Julian Lawson finished second on the team with a 19:09.4 and 35th place overall
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Redshirt Sophomore Thomas Hess finished close behind at 37th place and 19:09.5 in his first collegiate 6k
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Junior Carter Smith set a 6k PR at 19:25.2, finishing 51st
HEAR FROM THE RAMS
"I felt really good today. I was a little worried about this race since it was my first ever 6k but I knew that the whole team had my back and had our best interest in mind." -Jonathan Hess
"We really relied on our competitiveness the whole way through today. We stuck together for a little bit but then got ready to roll and competed with the guys around us and that worked well for us." -Director of Cross Country Austin Savage
Up Next
The Rams travel to Newport News, Va. for their second meet of the season at the CNU XC Invitational hosted by Christopher Newport on Friday, Sept. 12 at 5:30 PM. Last season, the Rams finished 2nd of 11 teams at that meet.
