The Gannon University men’s and women’s cross country teams hit the trails last weekend at Edinboro for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships.
Grace McGrath led the women´s team to an 11th-place finish on a dreary Saturday morning, earning the first all-PSAC honors for a Gannon female runner since 2015.
The Knight men finished 10th, as Joseph Westrick held with the lead pack throughout, finishing in fourth place to earn first-team all-PSAC honors.
In the women´s race, McGrath wound up 18th overall with a time of 24 minutes, 47 seconds.
She became Gannon’s first female all-PSAC selection since Gabby Kennelley in 2015.
McGrath is Gannon’s third all-conference finisher in the program’s PSAC history.
Each of the top four runners for Gannon women — McGrath, Meredith Morse (40th, 25:52), Sarah Fiorello (54th, 26:17) and Alena Wisniewski (55th, 26:19) — recorded their best finishes in a conference race.
Other Gannon finishers were Taylor Roberts (90th, 27:16), Tori Panian (91st, 27:17), Ashlynn Uzi (110th, 27:48), Cameron Perry (128th, 28:15), Emily Dolan (131st, 28:21), Kate Robb (136th, 28:26), Sabrina Kosnik (146th, 28:51) and Allie Domer (156th, 29:34).
Dolan and Kosnik posted their best finishes ever in a conference race.
Shippensburg edged host Edinboro by four points, 71-75.
California (Pa.) finished third at 111, followed by Seton Hill (154) and Lock Haven (156).
Cal U’s Alicia Belko led all runners with a time of 23:20, followed by teammate Alyson Pierce (23:53).
In the men’s race, Westrick’s fourth-place effort of 27:04 resulted in the highest finish by a Knight in the team’s 11-year PSAC membership.
Westrick said that patience and discipline have been key to his success so far this year.
“It is tough to run slower times than the year before knowing that your level of fitness has improved,” he said.
“Cross country requires you to train consistently, listen to your body, take care of yourself and be mentally prepared for each competition.”
Teammate Ryan Garich (28:43) finished 25 spots higher than last season (41st) and was just 20 seconds out of a top-30 all-conference finish.
He was followed by Eric Ingram (60th, 29:21), Garrett Sutton (80th, 30:09), Brett Whitty (98th, 31:02), Kyle Martin (100th, 31:12), Mitchel Daubert (105th, 31:29) and Max Battaglia (121st, 32:46).
Sutton was named the PSAC Champion Scholar for the second straight season.
Edinboro knocked off Shippensburg in the team race with 48 points.
The Raiders finished 14 points behind, and they were followed by Lock Haven (128).
Josh Coakley of West Chester claimed the individual title, finishing in 26:47.
He was followed by Ryan Clifford from Mansfield (26:51) and Nick McGuire of Bloomsburg (27:01), who edged Westrick by three seconds for third place overall.
Gannon’s men´s and women´s cross country teams head to Pittsburgh in two weeks, taking part in the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships Nov. 17 at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park.
CRISTINA DEL DIEGO
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