COLUMBIA, Mo. – In its first competition of the season in full race mode, Stanford swept the men’s and women’s team victories in commanding fashion at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday.
Led by sophomore Leo Young, the Stanford men placed four in the top eight to win decisively. The Cardinal scored 31 points to 163 for runner-up Tennessee.
Graduate student Zofia Dudek captured second in the women’s race while Stanford placed four in the top 10. The No. 10 Cardinal scored 44, to 91 for runner-up Tennessee.
Overall, these were strong and encouraging performances for the squads under sixth-year head coach J.J. Clark, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field and Cross Country.
This was the second competition of the season – after the Aug. 30 USF Invitational in San Francisco -- but the first serious meet in preparation for the ultimate goal of the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23 in Wisconsin.
The top Stanford men took the starting line for the first time this season. Of the 10 Stanford starters in the main race, three were freshmen and they competed alongside veterans Cole Sprout and Thomas Boyden, who are graduate students.
Leo Young broke from the nine-runner lead pack with 300 to go, but Kentucky’s Edward Bird caught him with 150 left and took the victory in 23:07.6 over the 8-kilometer (4.97-mile) course. Young was second in 23:08.9, Sprout third in 23:10.0, and Lex Young fifth in 23:11.2.
The top 15 broke the course record of 23:33.5 on the Gans Creek Recreation Area Cross Country Course, the site of the 2025 NCAA Championships. Five Cardinal were among them, placing 2-3-5-8-13, with Paul Bergeron finishing in the team No. 5 spot to lead the Stanford frosh, which included Patrick Koon in 17th and James Dargan, in his collegiate debut, in 18th. Freshman Josh Bell was 10th in the men's open race.
Bergeron moved up 10 places over the final 3K and Dargan moved up seven spots over the final 4K. Koon went out with the leaders and was as high as fourth halfway through before dropping back.
“The guys executed the gameplan really well,” Stanford men’s coach Ricardo Santos said. “They raced controlled and really smart. Our freshmen did a great job of working their way up the field to close well.”
As a team, Stanford led from the first kilometer. At different points, Boyden and Lex Young led the race, with Boyden, who would finish eighth, holding a slight edge going into the final kilometer.
In the women’s 6K (3.73-mile) race, Dudek clocked 19:53.6 to dip under the course record of 19:55.2. With Sophia Kennedy in third (19:55.6) and Julia Flynn (20:12.1) in seventh, Stanford’s top five finished 2-3-7-10-22.
No. 8 Stanford beat four teams ranked among the top 30 by the USTFCCCA, including No. 6 Florida, which was fourth with 131. The others were No. 9 Tennessee (second), No. 13 Lipscomb (23rd), and No. 26 Ole Miss (third).
Auburn’s Brenda Jepchirchir led from start to finish in a course-record 19:50.1. She led Dudek, who was in second, by 25.3 seconds at 4K. Her lead was 21.6 seconds over Tennessee’s Ashley Jones at 5K, with Dudek still 23.2 seconds back in fourth.
However, Dudek closed hard, passing three runners while covering the final kilometer in 3:12.9, to Jepchirchir’s 3:32.5. With Dudek making up 20 seconds, another 50 meters might have been enough to win. However, Jepchirchir held on.
For Flynn, a junior, this is her first collegiate season of cross country and, at No. 3, her highest team finish.
The women’s open race included Stanford junior Juliette Whittaker, competing in her first race since placing seventh in the 800 meters at the Paris Olympic final. Whittaker was 12th in 21:36.7.
Gans Creek Classic
At Gans Creek Recreation Area Cross Country Course
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Stanford 31; 2, Tennessee 163; 3, Auburn 167; 4, Missouri 180; 5, Kentucky 185.
Individuals – 1, Edward Bird (Kentucky) 23:07.6; 2, Leo Young (Stanford) 23:08.9; 3, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 23:10.0; 5, Lex Young (Stanford) 23:11.2; 8, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 23:20.2; 13, Paul Bergeron (Stanford) 23:28.4; 17, Patrick Koon (Stanford) 23:34.2; 18, James Dargan (Stanford) 23:36.8; 24, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 23:41.5; 47, Zane Bergen (Stanford) 24:03.5; 85, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 24:29.4.
Men’s Open
Stanford -- 8, Milo Skapinsky 24:11.7; 10, Josh Bell 24:19.5.
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Stanford 44; 2, Tennessee 91; 3, Ole Miss 120; 4, Florida 131; 5, Georgia Tech 164.
Individuals – 1, Brenda Jepchirchir (Auburn) 19:50.1; 2, Zofia Dudek (Stanford) 19:53.6; 3, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 19:55.6; 7, Julia Flynn (Stanford) 20:12.1; 10, Riley Stewart (Stanford) 20:15.3; 22, Audrey DaDamio (Stanford) 20:31.3; 31, Audrey Suarez (Stanford) 20:40.9; 34, Imogen Gardiner (Stanford) 20:49.4; 42, Nicola Hogg (Stanford) 20:57.2; 81, Hillary Studdert (Stanford) 21:26.9; 139, Ava Parekh (Stanford) 21:58.4.
Women’s Open
Stanford -- 12, Juliette Whittaker 21:36.7; 26, Madison Shults 22:11.9; 33, Amelia Everett 22:27.8.