RIVERDALE, NY – Junior
Tayla Gunton captured the individual crown at the 2025 ECAC Championship, leading the Iona University women's cross country program to a fourth-place team finish in the 6,000-meter event at Van Cortlandt Park.
IONA PERFORMERS
Gunton clocked a winning time of 20:20.6, edging Fairfield's Hannah Snayd by just over a second to secure the top spot in a tightly contested field. The junior's victory highlighted a strong team performance as the Gaels placed four runners among the top 25 finishers.
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Sophomore
Muireann Duffy continued her impressive season with a ninth-place finish (21:22.3), joining Gunton inside the top 10. Classmate
Kiera Atkinson was the next Gael across the line in 24th (21:58.8), followed by freshman
Kayleigh Atkinson in 60th (22:37.0) and senior
Kate Tugman in 88th (22:55.3) to round out Iona's scoring five.
TOP INDIVIDUALS
Gunton's championship performance headlined a competitive field that saw the top five athletes separated by less than 35 seconds. The 2023 MAAC Champion held off her 2024 counterpart in Snayd of Fairfield (20:22.0) and Delaware's Marie-Theres Gruber (20:28.1) to claim the title. Duffy's top-10 effort added another strong showing for the Maroon & Gold among the event's leaders.
TEAM RESULTS
Brown captured the team title with 81 points, narrowly holding off Bucknell (83) in a tight battle for the top spot. UMass Amherst (143) placed third, followed by Iona (173) in fourth and Delaware (183) rounding out the top five. Northeastern, George Mason, Lafayette, American, and Saint Joseph's completed the top 10 in a deep 25-team field.
IONA PERFORMERS
TOP 25 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS
| Place |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
Time |
| 1 |
Tayla Gunton |
Jr. |
Iona |
20:20.6 |
| 2 |
Hannah Snayd |
So. |
Fairfield |
20:22.0 |
| 3 |
Marie-Theres Gruber |
So. |
Delaware |
20:28.1 |
| 4 |
Ella Semple |
Sr. |
George Mason |
20:39.0 |
| 5 |
Nimrit Ahuja |
Sr. |
Brown |
20:53.3 |
| 6 |
Shaelan McNally |
So. |
Bucknell |
20:56.4 |
| 7 |
Jessie Fotheringham |
Fr. |
NJIT |
21:02.4 |
| 8 |
Caryn Rippey |
Sr. |
Bucknell |
21:12.4 |
| 9 |
Muireann Duffy |
So. |
Iona |
21:22.3 |
| 10 |
Mikaella Martin |
So. |
Manhattan |
21:27.2 |
| 11 |
Shealyn Brochu |
Fr. |
American |
21:29.8 |
| 12 |
Lara Mannes Diaz De Cerio |
Jr. |
UMass Amherst |
21:30.5 |
| 13 |
Julia Schriefer |
Sr. |
Brown |
21:31.4 |
| 14 |
Kate Moncavage |
So. |
Bucknell |
21:31.6 |
| 15 |
Eleanor Droege |
So. |
Colgate |
21:37.6 |
| 16 |
Alexis Tepper |
Jr. |
UMBC |
21:41.0 |
| 17 |
Rylee Davis |
Jr. |
UMass Amherst |
21:41.6 |
| 18 |
Kailey Granger |
Jr. |
Bucknell |
21:41.9 |
| 19 |
Rylee Ferretti |
Jr. |
Wagner |
21:43.8 |
| 20 |
Charlotte Murphy |
Fr. |
Brown |
21:48.8 |
| 21 |
Olivia Fraga |
Jr. |
Brown |
21:50.7 |
| 22 |
Ariana Thiel-Hadjilambrin |
So. |
Brown |
21:58.1 |
| 23 |
Keira Gamily |
Jr. |
Northeastern |
21:58.3 |
| 24 |
Kiera Atkinson |
So. |
Iona |
21:58.8 |
| 25 |
Kendall Collier |
So. |
Lafayette |
21:59.8 |
TEAM SCORES
| Place |
School |
Score |
| 1.) |
Brown |
81 |
| 2.) |
Bucknell |
83 |
| 3.) |
UMass |
143 |
| 4.) |
Iona |
173 |
| 5.) |
Delaware |
183 |
| 6.) |
Northeastern |
195 |
| 7.) |
George Mason |
248 |
| 8.) |
Lafayette |
251 |
| 9.) |
American |
282 |
| 10.) |
Saint Joseph's |
293 |
| 11.) |
Marist |
310 |
| 12.) |
UMBC |
321 |
| 13.) |
Colgate |
344 |
| 14.) |
Fairfield |
346 |
| 15.) |
Wagner |
357 |
| 16.) |
Fordham |
407 |
| 17.) |
NJIT |
421 |
| 18.) |
Harvard |
476 |
| 19.) |
Siena |
485 |
| 20.) |
Manhattan |
506 |
| 21.) |
St. John's |
607 |
| 22.) |
Albany |
661 |
| 23.) |
LIU |
667 |
| 24.) |
FDU |
758 |
| 25.) |
Saint Peter's |
797 |
UP NEXT
Championship season continues for the Gaels on Saturday, November 1, as Iona competes at the 2025 MAAC Championship, hosted at Twin Ponds on the FARM in Montgomery, New York.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Iona Gaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (
Email Updates).
Iona Cross Country/Track: Twitter, FacebookÂ
and Instagram.
