By Megan Finlan ’21, staff writer
The men’s and women’s cross country teams capped off a successful season at the MAC Championships and now have their sights set on NCAA Regionals.
The teams competed at the 2019 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) cross country championships on Nov. 2 where both teams showed out with the women’s and men’s sides placing second and fourth respectively out of 17 teams.
On the women’s side, Keri Jones won the individual championship after crossing the finish line in a time of 21:34.3. Her finish earned her the title of Runner of the Year for the conference. Graduate student and rookie, Julia Brewer, finished 15th with a time of 23:12.9 which earned her Rookie of the Year honors. Lauren Wick and Marah Hoffman also finished in the top-30 and earned all-conference honors for their times. Overall, the women’s side placed second behind top ranked Messiah College.
“I’d never run competitively before this fall, so my only goal for the season was to have fun and meet new people,” Julia Brewer, a graduate student, said. “Over the course of the season, I definitely surprised myself with what I was capable of and it’s amazing to finish off my short running career as being named Rookie of the Year in a conference with such tight competition.”
The men’s side was led by Garrett Santis who finished 15th with a time of 26:19.6. Noah Griffin and Jeff Campagna followed close behind Santis, finishing 16th and 17th respectively. Jordan Berger rounded off the team’s top-30 finishers as he placed 26th overall. All four runners earned all-conference honors for their times. The team finished in fourth place behind Widener, Stevenson, and Messiah.
“The men’s team really stepped up this season and sent the team on a good trajectory going forward,” Jeff Campagna junior captain, said. “This team is full of guys who are willing to grind and work hard and it showed at MACs, finishing fourth behind some really talented teams.”
With MACs behind them, the teams are keeping their sights ahead as they focus on preparing for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Nov. 16 at Lehigh University.
“Both teams have viable shots to finish within the top 10 at NCAA Regionals out of 73 potential competing teams. For now, we need to focus on recovering while getting a few last quality sessions in to maintain our fitness,” O’Brien said.
Along with winning Runner of the Year, Jones’ finishing time was the fastest in MAC Championships history as it was also one of the five fastest times in the nation over championships weekend.