Four Brandywine Runners Race At USCAA Cross Country Championships
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Penn State Brandywine was represented by four student-athletes – two men and two women – at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Cross Country National Championships on Friday morning at the Princess Anne Athletic Complex.
Both of Brandywine's women finished in the top half of the 87-runner 6K championship field as freshman Catharine Mooney (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) placed 30th and sophomore Rachel McIntire (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) crossed the line in 35th position.
Prior to Friday, the best finish at the national title race in program history was a 63rd-place showing by Robyn Gannon in 2015.
Mooney posted a time of 27:36, which is 73 seconds faster than any Brandywine woman had ever completed the USCAA race in the team's eight-year history. McIntire crossed the finish line in a time of 27:53, her top 6K time of the season by nearly two minutes.
On the men's side, Brian Abel (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) finished out his standout freshman season by finishing 24th in the field of 133 competitors. He now owns the top three 8K times in program history after running the third-fastest mark Friday, finishing the race in 28:38.
John Li (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby), the first-ever runner from Brandywine to compete in four national title races, concluded his cross country career in 56th place. Li topped his 2017 time by 72 seconds, recording a time of 30:34.
SUNY Delhi won the men's team championship, while SUNY ESF claimed the women's team crown. SUNY ESF's Marissa Lathrop was the women's individual medalist and Kobie Lane SUNY Delhi earned his second-straight men's title.
