Davidson Cross Country (XC) competed at the Atlantic 10 (A-10) Cross Country Championships on Nov. 1 in Cedarville, Ohio. The women’s seventh place finish marks Davidson’s highest A-10 Championship position since placing third in 2017. The men also moved up the standings, placing 11th in 2025 after finishing 13th in 2024.
Women’s XC captain Molly Sullivan ’26 closed out her cross country conference career with an eighth place finish, marking her first appearance on the XC A-10 All-Conference first team.
Sullivan ran a 6K personal best of 21:22, over 17 seconds quicker than her previous mark set in the 2024 A-10 Championship. “I just wanted to be proud of something and improve upon my finish from the previous year,” Sullivan said. “I did that, which is all I can ask for.”
When looking back on the conference meet, and the season in its entirety, Sullivan reflected on progress and poise. “We have grown so much. I feel like it’s because we’re such a young group. It’s really daunting for the freshmen towing the line for all of these races, because you’re racing against so many talented individuals. And so I think we just gained a lot more confidence as the season went on. People are able to race with each other.”
The growth and confidence Sullivan describes are embodied by Annie Norman ’29. She challenged the competition with an impressive 15th place finish, making her the first freshman to cross the line from any team. She raced to a personal best of 21:35 through 6K.
Not only was Norman honored with a position on the A-10 All-Conference team, but she was named A-10 Cross Country Rookie of the Year. “I was going into races scared and not knowing I could accomplish a lot […] I feel like now I go into races being like I can trust my training, I can trust my teammates, and I’m much more confident,” Norman said.
She reiterates advice women’s XC head coach Jen Straub has given her: “Trust yourself. If you’re not trusting yourself, you’re not going to let yourself accomplish what you can.”
Following Norman was Gilly Shumate ’29, who crossed the line in 22:05 for 37th place. Abby Smith ’28, Charlotte Moor ’29, Camryn Quinn ’29, Leah Horgan ’29, Mary Shoop ’26 and Justine Meta ’27 rounded out the ’Cats’ conference team.
Davidson’s men collected a series of A-10 honors over the weekend as well. John Cooper ’27 claimed a spot on the A-10 All-Conference first team, finishing 15th. He clocked in at 24:29 over 8K, just 4 seconds off of his personal best.
Cooper has found a healthy balance in his routine, and it’s sure paid off. “I’ve learned more about my body, being able to adapt my training to get the most out of it,” Cooper said. “I’m a lot better at not pushing myself too hard, because that’s something I’ve had issues with in the past.”
During the race, he knew he had to chase 15th place to acquire an All-Conference spot. “Going in, I was trying to be patient […] I knew what spot I was in. I knew how many people I needed to pass,” Cooper said. “[In the last mile] I was moving up, pushing off people going backwards.”
Cooper is looking ahead to the NCAA Regional race with optimism and excitement while continuing to reflect on his rewarding performance. “I was really happy. I was almost too happy to smile.”
Men’s A-10 All-Freshman runner Quinn Swanton ’29 spoke about his growth through the season. “The most important thing is learning and experiencing […] my first race wasn’t perfect at all, and then I learned from there and got better.”
He intends on maintaining this mindset heading into NCAA Regionals. “No pressure. Just have fun […] I feel like so much of it is just experiencing,” Swanton said.
Aside from Cooper and Swanton, the ’Cats advanced with the help of Alex Thole ’28 who crossed the line at 25:04 for 46th place. Graham Boles ’29 took the fourth position for the Wildcats, running 26:22. Eli Roth ’28 finished out the ’Cats’ top five, followed by Ryan Harris ’26, Parker Bartlett ’28 and Seamus O’Driscoll ’29.
As the Wildcats turn their focus to regionals, their goals expand beyond just time and placement. Sullivan sums up this attitude nicely: “I just wanted to run happy.”