Brandywine Men Finish Second; Four Place In Top 10 At PSUAC Championships
FAYETTEVILLE, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine men's cross country team claimed second place, while four runners, two from both the men's and women's teams, ran to top-10 finishes at the rain-soaked Penn State University Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday afternoon at Norlo Park.
Brandywine, which finished as the runner-up in the men's championship for the fourth time in the last five years, compiled 46 total points in the three-team field. Penn State Fayette won the men's championship with 19 points, while Penn State Schuylkill was crowned women's champion.
Brandywine's teams featured four runners who earned First Team All-PSUAC awards after finishing in the top six in their respective races. Brian Abel (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) and John Li (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) earned honors from the men's team, while Catharine Mooney (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) and Rachel McIntire (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) claimed first team honors from the women's team.
All four first team runners, plus second team all-conference performer Aileen Flaherty (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley), have qualified for the USCAA National Championships and will compete in Virginia Beach in two weeks. Li will be making his fourth-straight appearance at the national championship meet.
Abel paced the Brandywine men's team with a third-place finish. His time of 30:52 was 30 seconds off the pace of Fayette's Noah Marteny, who won the men's championship.
Li placed sixth in a time of 31:19, besting last year's conference championship mark by more than 60 seconds. He earned the fourth all-conference award of his career.
Mooney was the second woman to cross the finish line in the 6K race, posting a time of 28:02, giving her a pair of two-two finishes during her freshman season. Alexis Luna of Schuylkill won the women's individual title in a time of 27:40.
McIntire also finished in the top five, claiming fourth (29:30), while Flaherty was the 11th runner to complete the race (35:07).
Rounding out the Brandywine men were Ryan Cassidy (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), Brendan Cleary (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) and David Irby (Glenolden, Pa./Sun Valley). Cassidy posted a 13th-place showing with a time of 33:17 on the 8K course. Cleary was the 18th runner to cross the finish line (34:12), while Irby took 22nd (35:25).
The national championship meet will be run on the morning of Nov. 9 in Virginia Beach, Va., as part of USCAA Fall Championship Week.
