VERONA, 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.

Thomas capped off her legendary career on Saturday, finishing 9^th in the country with a time of 19:43. Last season, the senior from Ontario made her national debut and finished at 99^th in 2023. True to the theme of her 2024 season, Thomas took her performance to a whole new level, jumping 90 places to finish at 9^th in a highly competitive field. The performance garnered Thomas All-American honors, only the third Husky to do so in the program history, joining Jillian Sullivan (24^th in 2006) and Lauren Sara (35^th in 2014). The 9^th place in the NCAA Championships was the highest finish in UConn women's cross country history and completed one of the greatest single seasons by a Husky, a season that saw Thomas break meet records, win the BIG EAST championship and Northeast Regional championship last week.

Zydanowicz made her national debut, finishing in 102^nd out of the 254 runners, crossing the line with a time of 20:32. The Connecticut native completed her UConn cross country career in impressive fashion, pushing herself to new heights that got her to join her teammate on the national stage on a cloudy Saturday morning. 

Quote from Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan:

"Tremendous day at the NCAA Championships, the University of Wisconsin was a great host for this event. Great conditions on the course, and congratulations to everyone who competed. Really pleased with Chloe's performance this season and on this championship course, competing with the best women in the country. It was a huge accomplishment for her, stepping up with everything on the line. A huge shout out to Jenna [Zydanowicz]. She is a natural leader, the heart and soul of the team this fall, capping off a career of five years representing the UConn Huskies at the national championship. She put herself in the mix, proudly representing our program nationally today." 

Alabama's Doris Lemngole blew away the field, winning the individual championship at 19:21, over 6 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. BYU won the team championship at 147 points. Big East rivals Providence and Georgetown finished third and ninth as a team, exhibiting the competitive nature of the conference.