BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Radford cross country team were in action for the first time in 2026, racing under a new program director in Paul Zalewski, new distance coach in Stephen Howard, and plenty of new faces on the team in the Hokie Invitational at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Friday night.
"We debuted at a longer distance we're not quite used to doing this early in the season, but I loved the team's tenacity and attitude going into it," said Assistant Cross Country Coach Howard. "Kayla Fields did an incredible job leading the girl's team, and Teagan Gilhooly stepped up to another level in her first collegiate race. Our men's team is young, but they came prepared to battle! They ran for each other, and I am super impressed by how well they did in their debut, especially the freshmen. I can't wait to see what they are capable of!"
The women's race, which began at 6:00 p.m., featured some strong performances from the upperclassmen. Fields led all Highlanders with an 11th place finish overall, completing the 6K with a time of 22:17.1, a new personal best. Following the senior was sophomore Cora Gentzel, who took 17th with a time of 23:15.5. Gilhooly led a trifecta of Highlanders finishing in a pack with a time of 23:22.0, just in front of Allison Nelson and Kaley Tanner. Junior Katelyn Campbell wrapped up the Radford runners, placing 33rd overall with a time of 24:28.0.
On the men's side, Azrael Cabusao cracked the top 10 in the first race of 2026, finishing the challenging 8K course with a time of 25:14.9. Not far behind was sophomore Spencer Thacker, whose time of 25:35.4 was good enough for 12th place. Owen Sexton and Grayson Norris managed top-20 finishes, respectively, while Logan Hamilton just missed out to take 21st overall. Rounding out the Highlanders finishers were freshman Logan Wheelock, sophomore Quinlan Beegle, and freshman Joel Williams and Jack Jeffries.
The Highlanders look to improve after their first meet in a couple of weeks at the Fast Times Invite. The event is set to take place at Green Hill Park in Salem, Va., on Saturday, Oct. 3, with the college division races set to run at 11:00 a.m.
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