Awad leads Penn cross country to top-25 finish at nationals

What a weekend it was for Penn athletics.

Most of the campus’ attention was understandably on football’s first Ivy League title since 2012, but this Saturday in Louisville, Ky., men’s cross country capped an historic season on a high note.

Penn earned an invitation to its first NCAA Cross Country Championships in 40 years by barely edging out arch-rival Villanova to clinch the second automatic qualification spot at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet in Princeton last week.

Having already achieved its primary goal of the season, the squad only had to avoid a spot among the bottom of the finishers the the championships to count the day as a success.

Senior Thomas Awad made sure the Quakers surpassed that goal, leading the way with a 14th-place finish and earning All-American status.

His second time receiving the award, Awad became just the second male runner from Penn ever to earn the honor twice, joining the esteemed company of Dave Merrick, who gained the distinction — perhaps not-so-coincidentally — the last time the Quakers made it to an NCAA cross country championship: 40 years ago.

Meanwhile, in the women’s championship, junior distance runner Ashley Montgomery closed out her strong season by finishing 73rd out of the over 250 runners in the meet. The Michigan native crossed the line at a time of 20:40 in the 6K race.

The men’s team finished 24th out of the 31 best teams in the nation thanks to strong leadership by Awad, as well as junior Nick Tuck, who finished his 10K about half a minute later.

The squad’s supporting cast, which fueled the Quakers’ journey to the national championship, raced admirably as ever.

Junior Brendan Shearn and senior Brendan Smith finished reliably in third and fourth respectively for the Red and Blue, while rookie Kevin Monogue was the fifth Penn athlete to cross the finish line.

To gain some sense of how competitive the race was, Monogue finished in 221st place out of over 250 runners, yet he still averaged around 5:10 per mile during the 10K race, a blistering pace by most standards.

And after a 40-year hiatus from collegiate cross country’s highest level, the Red and Blue really hit the ground running with such a strong performance, even accounting for the absence normal fifth-man, sophomore Ross Wilson.

While the team is graduating three of its top seven runners, including star Awad, the future looks bright for the years to come, especially after boosting its nationwide profile with a trip to nationals.

For now, though, the team can revel in its place in Penn sports history, right alongside the previously unexpected championship run of the football team.

And while this Saturday was certainly a day to remember for the athletics department, both teams surely plan for more success to come.

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