Friday, Nov. 14, William and Mary men’s and women’s cross country traveled to Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va., to compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Southeast Regional Championships. The meet featured a packed field, including five teams ranked in the national top 30 on the women’s side (No. 12 North Carolina State, No. 13 North Carolina, No. 16 Virginia, No. 20 South Carolina and No. 29 Duke) and four on the men’s side (No. 4 Virginia, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 24 Virginia Tech and No. 30 Western Kentucky).
Tribe senior Perry Irons led the women’s team in her last ever cross country meet. Irons finished 38th in the 6k, posting a time of 20:29.30. Also scoring were her teammates: senior Kelly Ann Sutterfield, sophomore Maddie Gypson, freshman Meghan Sullivan and sophomore Chloe Miller. William and Mary finished 18th of 36 teams, placing just behind Coastal Athletic Association champion Elon and in-state rival Richmond. Junior Salma Elbadra of South Carolina claimed the individual title, while NC State secured the team title. South Carolina and NC State earned automatic bids to the NCAA championships.
Green and Gold junior Hayes Trapp led the men’s team with a dominant performance, finishing 23rd in the 10k with a time of 30:14.9. Trapp also earned all-region honors for his race, making him the first member of the Tribe to do so since 2012. Senior Brendan DiStefano, freshman Eli Philips, sophomore Caleb Wilcox and senior Peyton Golden all scored as well. Ultimately, the Tribe finished 12th of 33 teams, earning its highest finish since 2021. Junior Rocky Hansen of Wake Forest took the individual title, leading Wake Forest to the team championship. Wake Forest and Western Kentucky earned automatic bids to the NCAA championships.
Competing at the NCAA Southeast Championships presented a higher level of competition than the team had faced within the conference and in earlier meets. “Just a very deep region, much different race than the CAA meet,” Tribe head coach Forest Braden said.
Braden spoke highly of the women’s team performance as a group, as they came into the race after persevering through injuries throughout the season.
“[The women] get out, run together, run tough, use the downhills, use what the course gives [them],” he said.
For the men, moves and lead changes within the race were a significant factor. Both Trapp and DiStefano improved their positioning during the race, with Hayes making his move around the 5k, reaching a maximum position of 14th and DiStefano charging into the homestretch with a move around the 7k.
Braden was also pleased with the performance of the freshmen men.
“We had freshmen stepping up, Caleb Wilcox and true freshman Eli Phillips, just been running tough all year,” he said.
The leadership of Trapp was a significant story throughout the season.
“He’s a low stick for us, he’s a front runner. And so when you have that first person scoring very few points, it really helps take the pressure off everybody else,” Braden said.
As the last meet of the season for the team, Braden reflected upon the season and the impact of Irons on the William and Mary distance running program. Despite having never competed in cross country prior to the 2025 season, she quickly emerged as a leader and took on the No. 1 spot for the women.
“The plan was for her [to] go out, put herself in a good position [and] try to get in that top 25 in the race and try to qualify for the national meet. And so she took a chance and went for it and did a really nice job, just a really tough racer,” Braden said.
While Irons fell short of NCAA championship qualification, finishing 39th, she put up a strong fight, finishing the race just off her personal best time of 20:01.6.
Cross country is a unique sport in that, while the season may have ended, runners still have two more seasons left to compete this year. One of Braden’s key messages to his athletes after the meet revolved around this idea.
“If you did well, if you’re really content and happy with how you did, then just keep working on that. Keep using that as kind of a momentum, a confidence builder,” Braden said.
For athletes who were less content with their performance this season, he encouraged them to have a “short memory” and take advantage of the differences between indoor and outdoor track.
While the 2025-26 indoor track schedule for the Tribe has not been published yet, Braden indicated William and Mary will be back in action in a couple of weeks.
