Shippensburg Men, Edinboro Women Claim PSAC Cross Country Championships
October 21, 2017
California University
California, Pa.
CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
CALIFORNIA, Pa. --- Edinboro’s women and Shippensburg’s men claimed team titles at the 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at Roadman Park in California, Pa.
On the women’s side, California’s Julie Friend won the individual title after completing the course in 22:07.8. She is the second Vulcan to win the championship and first since the championship was introduced in 1980.
EU’s Stefanie Parsons grabbed second with a time of 23:04.5 while West Chester’s Diana Dunn impressed with a third-place finish with a time of 23:05.1. Dunn is the first Golden Ram to claim a top-five finish since 2014.
Pitt-Johnstown’s Tori Fulkroad claimed fourth in 23:05.6. She is the first UPJ representative to earn all-conference accolades in the sport.
Mansfield’s Kenzie Jones placed fifth with a time of 23:10.9. She is MU’s first top-five finisher since 2013.
EU won its third team title in the last four years and its 18th overall. The Fighting Scots produced 87 points after putting five runners in the top 35.
Shippensburg finished second with 89 points and put five runners in the top 30.
The two-point margin of victory was the closest in league history. SU defeated Slippery Rock by three points in 2008.
Kutztown (126), West Chester (140) and Cal (160) rounded out the top five.
EU’s Austin Pondel claimed the men’s individual title after turning a time of 26:27.9. He is the 24th Fighting Scot to win the title and first since 2010 (Scott Anderson).
SU’s Alexander Balla finished second, using a time of 26:39.4 while SRU’s Jeremy Parsons earned third (26:43.3).
Parsons has finished in the top 25 in all four years of his career and was SRU’s highest finisher since Jeff Weiss (3rd, 2008).
IUP’s Greg Beaudette grabbed fourth with a time of 26:46.3 while SU’s Calvin Conrad-Kline placed fifth (26:48.8). It marked the second consecutive championship that IUP turned in a fourth-place finisher.
SU won the team title for the second consecutive season and third overall after producing 38 points. EU (57) and IUP (91) finished second and third, respectively.
The top 15 finishers in each race earned first-team all-conference accolades while 16-30 earned second-team merits.
The NCAA DII Cross Country Atlantic Regional will take place on the campus of Lock Haven in Lock Haven, Pa. Nov. 11.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
CALIFORNIA, Pa. --- The 2017 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday, Oct. 21 on the campus of California University in California, Pa.
The women’s race is slated to start at 10 a.m. while the men are tabbed for an 11 a.m. start.
On the women’s side, Shippensburg will look to repeat as team champions after grabbed the title in 2016 with 50 points. It marked the eighth time that SU won the event.
Edinboro leads all PSAC schools with 17 titles.
Bloomsburg claimed second while East Stroudsburg finished third last season.
SU’s Casey Norton won the individual title in thrilling fashion after defeating Seton Hill’s Chelsia Poole by one-tenth of a second.
Nine PSAC schools sit in the top 10 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Atlantic Region. EU sits atop while SU and California are second and third, respectively.
ESU’s Kaylyn West will look to build off of a 12th-place finish last year after claiming a pair of women’s cross country athlete of the week awards this season.
On the men’s side, SU seeks its second consecutive title after staving off an aggressive Lock Haven team. The Raiders posted 47 points while LHU boasted 54.
EU paces all schools with 29 team championships.
IUP’s Austin Cooper is the lone returner from last year’s top five after he finished fourth.
SU sits atop the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region while EU and IUP are second and third, respectively.