CLINTON, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle cross country team returned to the course a week later than expected, taking 14^th place at the CMU Invitational hosted by Carnegie Mellon. One week after the Paul Short Open was canceled due to excessive heat, Clarion posted 367 team points in the field that included teams across all three NCAA divisions, and finished third among PSAC teams in competition.
 
Abigail Butera completed the five-kilometer course in a time of 18:51.9, putting her in 30^th overall and first among Golden Eagles on the course. She led a group of top-five Clarion runners that finished within 1:38 of one another, with Raechel Braun taking second on the team and 40^th overall in 19:04.2.
 
The next four athletes to cross the line finished within 45 seconds of one another, with Emmy Davis third on the team in a time of 20:09.8. Riley Miller was just 12 seconds behind her at 20:21.7, and Ella Nagel was just eight ticks of the clock behind Miller at 20:29.1.
 
That rounded out Clarion's top-five on the morning, and Chesnee Williams finished off the quartet under 21:00 with a time of 20:54.1. Zoey Thomas accounted for the last scoring spot in the meet for the Golden Eagles, finishing in 21:30.9.