PSAC Championship Homepage  |  Men's Preview

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – A total of 18 women's cross country teams, including each of the top 10 ranked teams in the Atlantic Region, will come together Saturday, Oct. 24, at Slippery Rock's Cooper's Lake Campground course for the 2015 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships.
 
The Rock will serve as hosts of the annual championship meet for the first time since 2012.
 
HOMEPAGE
A meet homepage has been established to provide all pertinent information about the championship in one location. The page, linked above, includes directions, course maps, course records, previous results, rosters and more.
 
SCHEDULE
10 a.m. - Women's 6,000-meter Race
11 a.m. - Men's 8,000-meter Race
Noon (or slightly before) - Awards ceremony
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The SRU athletic communication office will provide live updates, results and photos through the PSAC Track and Field Twitter account (@PSACTF) throughout the race. Updates will be posted at each mile of the race and results will be posted as soon as they are available.
 
AWARDS
The top 15 individual finishers will be named first team All-PSAC, while finishers 16-30 will be named second team All-PSAC. A Champion Scholar winner will also be awarded at the meet with the winner owning the highest cumulative GPA of all competitors. The top two teams will be awarded team trophies.
 
TEAM TITLE PREVIEW  |  Atlantic Region Rankings

The women's championship race this fall could prove to be one of the most exciting ever contested in the league's history. While the men's race appears to have a clear two-team battle for the top spot, four teams enter the weekend with a realistic chance at running for the top step on the women's side.
 
The women's championship has seen three different winners the last three years and Bloomsburg, ranked 13th in the latest national poll and first in the region, is aiming to make it four years in a row with a new champion. The Huskies were runners-up last year and while they will be without last year's champion in Lauren Lehman, they return three runners that placed in the top 17 and all three are running well this fall.
 
Bloomsburg is a slight favorite on paper, but by just mere points over Shippensburg, Edinboro and Slippery Rock. The Raiders were third last year at the PSAC meet and were fourth in the region most of the year, but jumped all the way up to second in this week's regional rankings and all the way up to No. 22 in the national poll. Edinboro, last year's champion, slipped to third in the regional rankings and sits No. 25 in the national poll this week. Slippery Rock was third in the regional poll nearly all season, but bumped to fourth this week after front-runner Leah Anne Wirfel did not compete two weeks ago. The Rock and Edinboro battled earlier this fall with the Fighting Scots coming out on top by a single point.
 
Behind the front four, California and East Stroudsburg will send strong front-runners to the line and will be looking to crack the top five in the team standings, as will Seton Hill, Kutztown, Lock Haven and Mercyhurst, which round out the top 10 in the regional poll.
 
TOP 10 TEAMS FROM 2014
(Team, Points)
1. Edinboro, 52
2. Bloomsburg, 71
3. Shippensburg, 127
4. Lock Haven, 187
5. Slippery Rock, 192
6. East Stroudsburg, 193
7. Kutztown, 205
8. Seton Hill, 211
8. Mansfield, 211
10. Indiana, 229
 
TOP INDIVIDUALS
While the team race will be an exciting one to watch unfold, this year's race for the individual title could be just as electric. Last year's title was decided by just seven seconds and that margin could shrink this year with 14 of the top 20 finishers from 2014 set to return and a number of new contenders set to compete.
 
Last year's runner-up Allison Decker from East Stroudsburg, fourth place finisher Kate Dodds of Bloomsburg and fifth place finisher Amanda Eisman from West Chester are all expected to compete for top honors, but could be overshadowed by newcomers to the league.
 
Slippery Rock senior transfer Leah Anne Wirfel was beaten only once this year and that defeat came from Edinboro newcomer Ida Narbuvoll. Both of them should factor into the title race on Saturday.
 
East Stroudsburg will also send last year's sixth place finisher, Chelsea Conover, to the line to give the Warriors two threats at the front of the race. Bloomsburg will send Hannah Boudreau and Teresa Ortiz out with Dodds in hopes of landing three runners in the top 15. Edinboro will look to Emma Sullivan and Anna Hosl to give the Fighting Scots three runners up front as well.
 
Indiana's Rachel Magliane was eighth last year, Seton Hill's Meagen Carter was ninth and Slippery Rock's Jenny Picot was 10th. All three will be looking to earn their second straight first team All-PSAC honor, as will Shippensburg's Lizzie Manickas and California's Julie Friend, who were 12th and 13th last year, respectively.
 
Shippensburg has been getting top performances from Casey Norton this fall and Kutztown's Corinne Manela was 18th at the PSAC meet last fall and is having a good 2015 season. Newcomer to the conference Gabby Kennelley has turned heads a freshman running for Gannon and could factor into the race for the top spots, as could Seton Hill's Chelsia Poole. Lock Haven will be led by Alexis Arnold and Mansfield will be paced by Allison McCurry.
 
TOP RETURNING FINISHERS FROM 2014
(Name, School, 2014 Finish)

Allison Decker, ESU, 2
Kate Dodds, Bloom, 4
Amanda Eisman, WCU, 5
Chelsea Conover, ESU, 6
Rachel Magliane, IUP, 7
Anna Hosl, Boro, 8
Meagen Carter, SHU, 9
Jenny Picot, SRU, 10
Lizzie Manickas, Ship, 12
Julie Friend, Cal, 13
Emma Sullivan, Boro, 14
Hannah Boudreau, Bloom, 15
Corinne Manela, Kutz, 18
Teresa Ortiz, Bloom, 20
 
TOP CONTENDERS
Below is a look at some of the names expected to be near the front of the pack, as well as at least one individual expected to lead their respective team.
 
• Bloomsburg – Kate Dodds, Hannah Boudreau, Teresa Ortiz
• California – Julie Friend, Alex Zanella, Alyson Pierce
• Cheyney – Daivona Williams
• Clarion – Katie Chambers, Kayce Bobnar
• Edinboro – Ida Narbuvoll, Emma Sullivan, Anna Hosl
• East Stroudsburg – Allison Decker, Chelsea Conover
• Gannon – Gabby Kennelley, Veronica Bujdos
• Indiana – Rachel Magliane, Jenna Lezanic
• Kutztown – Corinne Manela, Stephanie Bresadola, Amanda Ferraro
• Lock Haven – Alexis Arnold
• Mansfield – Allison McCurry
• Mercyhurst – Mary Jaskowak, Chloe Tyillian
• Millersville – Natalie Crum
• Pitt-Johnstown – Natalie Sheen
• Seton Hill – Chelsia Poole, Meagen Carter, Alyssa Brandis
• Slippery Rock – Leah Anne Wirfel, Jenny Picot, Melissa Rains
• Shippensburg – Casey Norton, Lizzie Manickas, Bryanna Dissinger, Caity Reese
• West Chester – Amanda Eisman
 
ALL-TIME CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
A total of seven teams in the PSAC have claimed at least one title since the first championship was held on the women's side in 1980. Edinboro leads all programs with 16 titles. A look at the number of championships for each program can be found below.

16 - Edinboro
7 - Indiana
7 - Shippensburg
2 – Slippery Rock
1 – West Chester
1 – Bloomsburg
1 – Mansfield

RESULTS
Results will be posted to the homepage as soon as they are available.
 
PHOTO GALLERY
A photo gallery from the race will be available on the homepage within 2-3 days after the meet. Links to the galleries will be shared on the @PSACTF Twitter page when posted.