Granville, Ohio- After a fifth-place finish at the NCAC Championships last season, the Big Red opens up its schedule at the Port Kenyon Opener at Kenyon College.

2024 Season Recap

The season started at the Port Kenyon Opener at Kenyon College, where the team finished in fourth place, and was led by rising junior Fiona Martinelli, who finished seventh overall with a time of 15:34.9. At the Denison Invitational, the team saw four individuals place in the Top 10, and the team finished second out of the three teams competing. At the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational, the team finished eighth out of 17 teams. Rising sophomore Jane McNamara led the way, finishing 20th with a time of 23:27.8. At the Connecticut College Invitational, the team placed 29th with Martinelli first for the Big Red with a time of 23:10.6. The team would then finish fifth at the NCAC Championships hosted by DePauw University, where Martinelli and McNamara were Third Team All-NCAC. The Big Red finished the season at the NCAA Great Lakes Region Championship and placed 24th.

Returners
The team returns nine runners from last year's squad and brings in five first-years to fill out the roster. The team is young, as it has no seniors on the roster, but the young core brings back valuable experience from last season.

Denison brings back Martinelli and McNamara from last season, as both of them were Third Team All-NCAC, and McNamara was NCAC Newcomer of the Year. Martinelli ran a personal-best 6k time of 23:10.6 at the Connecticut College Invitational last season and placed 15th at the NCAC Championships. McNamara had her best time at the OWU Invitational, where she placed 20th with a time of 23:27.8. At the NCAC Championships, she ran 23:46.5 and placed 18th, becoming the only first-year to earn a top-20 finish.

Rising junior Lexi Verdell and rising sophomore Floralysse Biteau return after having successful seasons. Verdell ran a career-best 24:48.9 at the OWU Invitational in the 6k, and Biteau ran her best time at the OWU Invitational as well, finishing 45th with a time of 24:04.5.

Also returning are juniors Olivia Amlin, Aly Marshall, while other sophomores returning are Ava Burson, Ren Perretta, and Evie Sparks.

Looking at the Schedule

The team will compete in five events before the NCAC Championship. The Big Red will head out to Kenyon Aug. 29 for the Port Kenyon Opener before heading to Otterbein University on Sept. 13 for the Otterbein Invite. They will then travel to Allegheny College for the Allegheny Classic on Sept. 20, and next week, on Oct. 3, head to rival Ohio Wesleyan University for the OWU Invitational. They conclude the regular season at Augustana College for the Augustana Interregional Invitational on October 18, before the NCAC Championship, held at Kenyon College on November 1.