Abel And Mooney Earn All-America Status At USCAA Championships
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Represented by three runners at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships, Penn State Brandywine saw a pair of sophomores become the first-ever cross country all-Americans in school history as Brian Abel (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) and Catharine Mooney (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) both earned second team recognition Friday morning.
Mooney, who won the PSUAC Championship two weeks ago and the Brandywine Invitational during the regular season, bested her own school record 6K time in finishing 14th. She ran to a time of 24:28, topping her previous personal best by 31 seconds. She finished 16 places higher and more than three minutes faster compared to her freshman year when she was a national qualifier, posting a time near the top of the 93-runner field.
Abel, also a two-time national qualifier, was the 13th men's runner to cross the finish line in a field comprised of 110 runners. He ran to a time of 27:31, 67 seconds quicker than his USCAA time from 2018. The second runner from a PSUAC campus to hit the finish line, Abel's time was the fourth-fastest 8K mark in team history.
Alex Rosenberry (Etters, Pa./West Shore Christian) also represented the Brandywine men's cross country team during the national championship race. He capped off a standout freshman season, during which he joined Mooney and Abel on the All-PSUAC First Team, by posting a mark of 33:29. His time was good for 87th position.
