River Forest, Ill. - The 2024 Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars women's cross country season has officially come to an end. The team competed in seven races in total against heavy competition, where the races highlighted great effort and success from the runners. Many runners continued to push their limits throughout the season and hit several new benchmarks.

Here's What Coach Allgood Had to Say About the Season

"I think the most rewarding part of the season is seeing the team grow and develop as a whole unit. To have such a hardworking group of young men and women coming to practice every day makes the job that much easier. There's been a confidence in our execution, trust in our process, and a hunger for more. Those components carried us these last 14 weeks and they'll continue to do so into the future."

Season Recap

Starting off the season, CUC hosted their first home meet in almost two decades, where the team celebrated their two seniors, Ariel Martinez (Berwyn, Ill.) and Tegan Oas (Shingle Springs, Calif.). It seemed only fitting for these two seniors to lead the Cougars in this race and in races to come. Martinez finished first for the Cougars and 13th overall with a time of 21:04.1 Behind her, fellow senior and finishing 19th overall, Oas ran a time of 24:40.06. The next four runners for the Cougars also ran in new personal records (PRs). Lydia Anderson (Carpentersville, Ill.) finished with a time of 23:55.1, Breanna Walters (Poplar Grove, Ill.) finished with a time of 24:31.6, Sarah Redhage (Lowden, Iowa) finished with a time of 24.33.4 and in her rookie and collegiate debut freshman Addi McKee (Knoxville, Ill.) finished with a time of 24:40.6.

On September 14th, the Cougar team ran their first official 6k of the season where four Cougars ran in their first PRs of the season. Before the PRs, the two seniors on the team, Martinez and Oas, finished first and second on the team with times of 26:09.7 and 26:51.9, respectively. The first PR of the race came from Parsons with a time of 29:58.7. Next up in PRs was McKee with a time of 33:37.8 and closely behind her teammate, in her freshman year collegiate debut was Ciara Parson running in a time of 33:59.3. The final PR of the day came from Abbigail Placido (Geneva, Ill.) with a time of 41:41.2.

Traveling to Warrenville, Illinois, the Cougars competed in the Gil Dodds Invitational where nearly the entire team brought in new PRs. Before the PRs, Martinez finished first for the Cougars with a time of 25:27.7. The first PR of the race came from Oas, who ran in a time of 25:59.2 which chipped off nearly 40 seconds from her previous PR. Within three minutes of each other, the next four runners to finish and PR for the Cougars were Redhage, Walters, McKee, and Parsons. In order, their times were 38:37.3, 29:26.7, 30:51.6, and 31:22.7. The final PR of the day came from Placido who chipped off a whopping three minutes from her previous PR with a time of 38:59.8.

The next race up was the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, where the team traveled to Rock Island to compete. This race was highlighted by Martinez who crossed the finish line first for the Cougars and placed 20th overall. The second to cross the finish line for the Cougars was Oas who finished 49th overall. This race also capitalized another PR for Redhage with a time of 28:35.3.

After two weeks off of competition to rest and prepare, the Cougars traveled to Peoria, Illinois to compete in the Bradley Pink Classic. In the race, four Cougars surpassed their previous PRs. Martinez finished first for the Cougars where she finished with a time of 25:31.6. Chipping off another 20-seconds from her previous PR, Redhage ran in a new time of 28:10.5. Finishing two-seconds after her teammate, Walters ran a time of 28:12.7. The final two PRs of the race came from Parsons and Placido, who ran in respective times of 30:39.7 and 37:53.9.

Nearing the end of the season, the Cougars traveled to Geneva, Illinois to compete in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) Cross Country Championships. The top two finishers for the Cougars were Martinez and Oas with times of 25:43.14 and 26:59.8 respectively. Attacking their PRs once again, we saw Parsons chip off 14 seconds from her previous PR and Placido chip off one minute where they finished with times of 30:23.2 and 36:33.7.

For the final race of the season, the Cougars traveled to Rock Island once more to compete in the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships. The team highlighted Martinez as the top finisher for the Cougars and four PRs to wrap up the season. Coach Allgood mentioned the team ran great overall, and four runners ran in new PRs to cap off the season. Like we saw all season, Martinez crossed the finish line first for the Cougars with a time of 26:04.8 and Oas finished second with a time of 26:49.5. Starting off the PR party, Walters ran a time of 27:00.1. Within 55 seconds, teammate Redhage crossed the finish line with a time of 27:55.9. Parsons took nearly 40 seconds off of her previous PR with a time of 29:41.5 and the last PR of the race and season came from McKee who ran in a time of 30:19.7.

First Year Runners

The Cougar team added three new runners who had great showings their rookie season. Both Parsons and McKee continued to push themselves throughout the season where both were able to defeat their previously set PRs as the season continued on. At the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships Parsons ran a time of 29:41.5 and McKee ran a time of 30:19.7. Placido was also a first year runner for the Cougars, where she had her season PR at the NACC Cross Country Championships with a time of 36:33.7.

What's Next

To keep up with the runners, several will be competing on the track & field team in the upcoming season. For any and all updates about CUC cross country, take a look at our athletic website at cucougars.com. The team will be anxiously awaiting the next cross country season.