SPOKANE, Wash. – Unfazed by residual snow on the ground, temperatures in the 30s and several nationally-ranked teams competing, the Caltech cross country team ran into the record books Saturday morning at the NCAA Cross Country West Region Championships. 

Up against the most challenging field of the 2022 campaign, the Caltech women's team finished the 6K race in 1:55.50 for an average of 23:10 and sixth place, the highest regionals finish in program history.
Margaret Trautner led the pack with a personal best 22:17.0 finish with an average mile of 5:58.6, good enough for 13th place out of 166 competitors. Close behind was Maria Carilli in 23rd place with a 22:37.2 time, also a personal record, and Sophie Dalfonzo with a 23:06.0 finish. Rounding out the historic team performance were Gigi Pistilli in 23:32.5, Lauren Garriques in 24:17.7, Elisa Grillo in 24:34.3 and Katy Chu in 25:04.6. The team finish ranked third among the seven SCIAC programs in the race.

"Coming in knowing there were five nationally-ranked teams in front of us, the Beavers had big dreams for this one and gave it their all," Head Coach Kelli Blake said. "It was so fun to watch this crew come together the past three months and compete for each other."

Then in the Men's 8K run, Caltech finished ninth overall and fourth among the seven SCIAC programs. Joey Litvin was the first Beaver across the finish line, averaging 4:59.8 per mile for a 24:50.3 finish, the fastest 8K time in Caltech history. Following Litvin was Rogun Agrawal in 25th place overall with a 25:12.2 time, and then Kyle Piper finishing in 26:38.6. Kyle McCandless completed the run in 26:43.0, trailed by Miles Jones in 26:57.1, Gaurav Phanse in 27:31.3, and finally Thomas MacLean in 27:32.4. Litvin, Agrawal, Piper, McCandless, and Jones all set new personal records for cross country 8K times, and the team average of 26:04 stands as the fastest average in Caltech history.

"This team continued to believe in each other despite early season struggles and we couldn't be prouder of them," Blake said of the men's squad.

Carilli and Trautner each won All-Region honors for their performances, as did Litvin and Agrawal on the Men's side. Additionally, by virtue of their outstanding individual performances, Litvin and Trautner have qualified to represent Caltech at the 2022 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships in Lansing, Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Nationals information: https://www.ncaa.com/live-updates/cross-country-women/d1/2022-college-cross-country-championships-schedules-times-updates
Full regionals results: https://www.tfrrs.org/results/xc/20831/NCAA_Division_III_West_Region_Cross_Country_Championships