Junior Bobby Danielson became the first Gannon University men’s cross country runner to net All-PSAC honors when he placed 29th at the PSAC Championships, held Saturday at Kutztown.
Danielson covered the 8-kilometer course in 27 minutes, 4.8 seconds. His efforts helped propel the Knights to an 11th-place finish among 16 teams at the conference meet.
Gannon has been competing in the PSACs since 2008.
Danielson explained that he and the team didn’t place exactly how they wanted but were down three main runners due to injury and illness. As for his accomplishment, he said he is happy to reach his goal.
“Saturday meant a lot to me and showed me that my hard work over the summer paid off and inspired me to work even harder towards next season over the winter and next summer,” Danielson said.
Shippensburg captured the team title, outdistancing Lock Haven, Edinboro, Bloomsburg and Kutztown.
Lock Haven junior Addison Monroe took the individual title with a time of 25:38.
Bryan Geeher of Edinboro finished second in 25:48, followed by Kieran Smith of Shippensburg at 25:56, Austin Cooper of IUP at 25:59 and Lock Haven’s Jacob Fetterman at 26:02.
Eight Knights competed and placed at PSACs. A few standouts include freshman Joseph Westrick in 34th place with a time of 27:13, junior Nick Samsel in 68th with a time of 28:24 and sophomore Garret Sutton placed 76th in 28:47.
In his last PSAC appearance, senior David Batistig placed 99th in 32:30.
Coach John Carrig would have liked to finish in a higher place but understood the lack of key runners hurt them.
“We were hurt a bit on the men’s side with our number three runner, Grant Folgate, out with mono,” Carrig said.
However, he highlighted the personal accolades of two runners.
“Bobby Danielson earned all-PSAC honors and freshman Joe Westrick finished 34th, just missing all-PSAC by four spots.”
The Knights will return to action at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional hosted by Slippery Rock.
Danielson will be competing to be the top Knight for the second year in a row at the regional. Last year he placed 38th on the 10K course in 32:42.

BRANDON JACES
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