NC State's Snider, Frazier Crowned 2023 Collegiate 10K Road Race Champions
Richmond welcomed nearly 1,100 college students for 10K Championships
View as .pdf: RESULTS
April 22, 2023 - RICHMOND, VA – The Collegiate Running Association and the city of Richmond welcomed nearly 1,100 college students as part of the 8th annual Collegiate 10k Road Race National Championship event, held within the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger. Robinson Snider and Ryen Frazier made it a sweep for NC State University as the graduate students claimed the men’s and women’s titles on a beautiful morning in Richmond, Virginia.
The men’s championship witnessed several lead changes between Snider, and University of Richmond cross country teammates, Stuart Terrill and Jordan Bendura. By 4 miles it was down to Snider and Terrill. With a strong push over the final 500 meters it would prove to be Snider’s day as he crossed the line in 30:21 for the victory and claim the $1,000 prize as top college student. Terrill would stop the clock 10 seconds later for the runner-up position with Bendura in third (31:03).
“It was great,” said Snider, who also ran track and cross country at N.C. State. “I haven’t run this before; I’ve never heard about it, but I was surprised with how huge it was.”
He said the Richmond crowds were his favorite part of the race.
“The whole way there were bands and for me it was just fun to look around to see bands and people in costumes cheering you on,” he said. “The support the entire way was a nice distraction and entertaining.”
Former NC State women’s cross country runner and current graduate student Ryen Frazier marked her first visit to Richmond with a win, finishing in 35:08 and claim the $1,000 prize for the top college student. She outpaced runner-up Ainsley Jacobs (Towson University) by 25 seconds.
“I went out pretty hard in the first couple miles,” Frazier said. “Once I was able to get a lead I just kinda maintained the whole way.”
The Collegiate Running Association runs its national championship 10k road race as part of the Monument Avenue event and awarded $3,500 in cash prizes to the top three male and female finishers who currently are enrolled in at least one college class.
Frazier said the fans that lined Monument Avenue gave her extra motivation. The $1,000 first-place cash prize was motivation too.
Richmond-area university runners were well represented on the men’s and women’s side. Of the 10 collegiate men’s winners, seven were from the University of Richmond. On the women’s side, five of the top 10 finishers attend the University of Richmond.
The runner-up on the men’s side, Terrill is a standout cross country runner at the University of Richmond. This was his second race in as many days after finishing the 5,000-meter event at the Virginia Challenge hosted by UVA yesterday.
It was the senior’s first attempt at the Monument Avenue 10k. Terrill said he was motivated to finish with a good time after a subpar performance in Charlottesville.
“I would have been a little more fresh if I didn’t run yesterday,” he said. “I’m happy with the performance given how I was feeling going into the race.”
“This is such a great event," said Collegiate Running Association co-founder, Steve Taylor. " Along with great competition in both the men’s and women’s championships, we are thrilled Keira D’Amato ran in the open race. As a former Collegiate Running Association Athlete-of-the-Year (2020), she is one of the top women’s distance runners in the US and held our national record for the marathon of 2:19:22.”
For the CRA one of the most exciting things about this event is getting to support college students and following their careers after graduation. One of our favorite parts about putting on these events is watching the as they continue on to do amazing things at national and international levels down the road.”
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