Law Student Helps W&L Running Program Reach Historic Heights First-year law student Cassie Carr ‘27L helped the Generals Cross Country and Track teams rewrite the record books.
Cassie Carr ’27LIf you are looking for a top law school attached to a university with an excellent Division III athletics program, the list is admittedly short. But for Cassie Carr ‘27L, W&L was the perfect place for her to continue running and launch her legal career.
A standout runner and student at Washington and Jefferson who twice qualified for the cross country national championship, Carr received an extra year of eligibility, as did all intercollegiate athletes during COVID. She had nurtured an interest in the law since high school, and that was further confirmed by an influential college professor who practiced law before entering academia. Carr said “everything fell into place” when she visited campus for the first time.
“You could really feel a sense of community and camaraderie, which isn’t something you always have because of how competitive law school can be,” said Carr. “It was clear that everyone really cared and was invested in each other.”
She added, “This was the place where both the academics and running program really spoke to me, and I knew this is where I wanted to be.”
For the second time in three years, a first-year law student would be competing as a runner for W&L, and much like Charles Scharf ’25L did when he laced up his spikes as 1L, Carr brought senior leadership and high-level competitive experience that Coach Mike Dager knew would be an asset for a team poised to have a stellar season.
“From the moment Cassie arrived on campus, there was total buy in with our goals and a new training program,” said Dager. “After a few weeks together, it felt like Cassie had been part of the program for years. We knew Cassie was a great runner and had heard about the kind of person she was from her coaches at W&J, but she exceeded all expectations in every area.”
Carr was among the top runners for the Generals during the cross country season. The team won the ODAC championship for the first time since 2019 and then went on to capture the Division III South Regional Championship for just the second time ever, with Carr finishing second for the team and 4th overall.
Ranked 10th nationally heading into the National Championships in November, the team finished eighth overall, marking the best team finish in W&L cross county history. Carr finished third for the team and in her highest place overall from her three trips to the championship race.
Carr’s success would continue during the indoor track season, where she along with other team members would etch their names into the program record books for individual events. In January at the VMI invitational, Carr clocked 10:05.38 to notch the third best time in program history for the 3000-meter run.
Turning her focus to the mile run for the remainder of the indoor season, Carr took first place in a program and meet record time of 4:57.65 at the ODAC championships, helping the Generals to their first indoor team title since 2009. Carr’s mile time earned her an invitation to the Indoor National Championships in March. There, she would lower her school record time to 4:56.58, finishing 11th overall and missing the finals by just 0.20 seconds. Her finish earned her Second Team All-American honors for the first time in her career.
Unfortunately, Carr’s outdoor season on the track was cut short by an injury. However, she plans to use that final season of eligibility next year. Her season did end on a high note though, when she learned that she was the recipient of the 2025 Fall NCAA Postgraduate scholarship, awarded to recently graduated student-athletes who excel both academically and athletically in intercollegiate athletics competition.
Carr’s maturity and focus helped her handle the many demands of the first year of law school combined with the practice and travel commitments of intercollegiate athletics. Indeed, she believes that the busy schedule helped her be more successful at both endeavors.
“Law school can feel like such a bubble,” she said. “You can get really trapped into thinking this is the entire world, not letting yourself take time away. And so I think running probably helped me perform better in that way because I had this other obligation that kept me from burning out on law school.”
This summer, Carr will intern at the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and work as a research assistant for the legal writing program at the law school. She is also looking forward to competing in one final season on the track.
“It’s been a huge honor to train and compete with such a talented and dedicated group of women,” said Carr. “There’s just something so special about running with people who approach every race with such fight and drive, and I really attribute the success I was able to have this year to the inspiration that came from watching my teammates succeed first. I know they will continue to push and inspire me next track season. “
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Grit and Experience
Coach Mike Dager:
One of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen as a coach was watching Cassie win the mile after falling at the Finn Pincus Invitational. From the time she started to go down until she took her next step was over 6 seconds. Most athletes would have jumped up and started sprinting, inevitably running out of gas, and finishing in the middle of the pack. As a seasoned veteran, Cassie distributed her effort evenly over the final 5 laps and ran past everyone.
Despite the fall, Cassie learned she was in the best shape of her life and ready for something big. Two weeks later she smashed the oldest school record on the books at the time, winning a conference title and establishing a new ODAC Championship record in the process. A week later she learned she qualified for Nationals where she finished 11th overall and reset the program record.
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