Cross country gathered under gloomy skies and howling wind to run a 5K at the Moakley Course on Friday. There was no grand strategy, no high-stakes battle against an Ivy League rival and not even a bitter struggle near the finish line. The race wasn’t even scored.
The Red, along with Colgate University and Syracuse University, ran to celebrate the legacy of one man: John Reif ’86.
Reif, while never the fastest runner for the Red, made his greatest impact off the course. Described as fiercely loyal to his team and with an iron will, Reif was beloved to all who knew him.
After Reif graduated, he moved to St. Louis and attempted to break into the world of professional triathlon. While biking one day, a collision with a car cut his life tragically short.
Starting in 1987, the John Reif Memorial Race has been hosted in some fashion.
“This just symbolizes what ‘team’ means to Cornell,” said head coach Mike Henderson. “This race really represents the family and the team aspect of our program. We have the whole track team watching; we get his classmates to come back [to] watch and celebrate the person he was.”
Henderson believes that this atmosphere is especially important for the Red’s newest recruits.
“It is a good example for [the recruits] to see what our program is about,” he said.
With Reif in mind, both the men and women were determined to run their best. Given this race is only a week before the Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championship, the Red’s fastest runners were resting. This gave runners further down the pecking order one last chance to qualify for the Heptagonal.
“Usually, there are a couple of spots up for grabs,” said senior Tyler Canaday. “You take 12 people to [the Heptagonal] and usually the top guy or two will end up going to [the Heptagonal] ... via the Reif.”
Red runners claimed the first nine spots in the men’s race. Junior Adam Martinson emerged victorious with a time of 15:23. Behind him were freshman Griffin Cords and junior Tyler Tisinger, with times of 15:27 and 15:28, respectively. Rounding out the top seven were sophomore Asher Patel with a 15:37, freshman Will Hauser with a 15:41, freshman Benjamin Gibson with a 15:49 and senior Zach Winnicki with a 15:59.
“I thought they brought great energy,” Henderson said. “It was really fun to see them keep each other moving throughout the middle and finishing strong. I’m happy with what we saw from them today.”
Only four women competed for the Red. Junior Emma O’Day won the race, finishing with a 18:44 and a comfortable margin of victory. Senior Katja Jackson finished behind her in second with a 18:51. Freshman Sophia Comfere finished 4th with a 19:59 and senior Cara Hliboki finished seventh with a 20:43.
“I thought they did a really nice job of just staying steady and moving up throughout the race,” Henderson said. “It was really good to see [O’Day] and [Jackson] really focused… that last half mile or so from [Comfere] is really nice to see.”
Hliboki was running with the cross country team to prepare herself for the impending track season.
“It’s great to see [Hliboki] putting together a complete race and getting herself ready for track season,” Henderson said.
With the conclusion of the John Reif Memorial, the next task for the Red is an imposing one: the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. The race will be hosted at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City starting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 31.
Eric Joy is a Sun Contributor and can be reached at ewj36@cornell.edu.
