BETHLEHEM, Pa.- Senior Chloe Thomas continued her individual dominance in the 2024 cross country season, winning the Paul Short Run Women's College Gold 6K race by more than 30 seconds, leading the Huskies to a second-place team finish Saturday afternoon.
With a time of 19:23.8, Thomas finished 33 seconds ahead of second-place Vera Sjoberg of Boston University, pulling away from the field after being three seconds ahead at the two-mile mark. In the 50th running of the Paul Short Run, the 19:23.8 performance by the senior from Dundas, Ontario set a course record by ten seconds, set by Utah Valley's Everlyn Kemoi in 2022.
As a team, the Huskies also had a very strong day, taking second overall, with senior Jenna Zydanowicz placing 5th with a time of 20:07.2, and fellow senior Caroline Towle securing a spot in the top-10, placing 9th at a time of 20:14.0. Sophomores Chloe Trudel and Malin Rahm rounded out the top 5 for the Huskies, with times of 21:05.0 and 21:12.8 respectively.
Thomas blew past her PR in the 6K race, set last October in the Arturo Barrios Invite (19:49.5). Towle also set a PR in the 6K, running 11 seconds faster than her time from last October as well. Trudel set a 19 second PR with her 21:05 time as well.
Sophomore Loghan Hughes, Senior Rachael Woodruff, Freshman Claire Paci, and Junior Madison Relyea all ran for the Huskies on Saturday as well. Hughes set a 10-second PR in the 6K as well, continuing her strong momentum this season.
Quote from Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Beth Alford-Sullivan:
"We had an excellent run at the 50th running of the Paul Short Invitational. Great honor, team competed extremely well. As a team, we were in 7th place at the 1st mile, moving up to 5th at the 2nd mile, finishing the race in 2nd as a team. Another incredible race by Chloe Thomas, she took command of the race before 2 miles and opened it up. A course record again, running incredibly well. Very proud of Jenna (Zydanowicz) and Caroline (Towle) for finishing in the top-9."
Up Next: UConn will compete in the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup on Friday October 11th in Hopkinton, NH.
Players Mentioned
Players Mentioned
Latest Women's Cross Country
- Another One: Chloe Thomas Wins USTFCCCA Northeast Region Athlete of the YearSTORRS, Conn.- Senior Chloe Thomas was named the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional Female Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday.
- Chloe Thomas Earns All-American Honors, Finishing 9th at NCAA ChampionshipsVERONA, Wisc.- Chloe Thomas and Jenna Zydanowicz finished their UConn cross country careers among the best in the nation on Saturday morning, racing at the NCAA Championships at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course hosted by the University of Wisconsin.
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- Thomas and Zydanowicz Lead Huskies in Northeast RegionalHOPKINTON, NH- For the last four years, Chloe Thomas has rewritten the UConn history books. Coming into the cross country season, she had put together one of the most decorated careers in the program's history. On Friday morning, she continued her historic 2024 season with something that no Husky has ever done before.
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- Top Dog: Chloe Thomas Wins BIG EAST Championship, First in UConn HistoryLEESBURG, VA.- Chloe Thomas has been making history for UConn cross country all season long. It was only fitting that she rewrote the history books at least one more time on Friday morning at the BIG EAST Championships, becoming the BIG EAST Individual Champion in UConn history.
