On Saturday the Shippensburg University men’s and women’s cross-country teams were back in action in the second meet of their shortened season.  

Both teams ran against East Stroudsburg University, Kutztown University and Shepherd University. Each team competed in a 5K race, which was held on SU’s home course — the Shippensburg Invitational.

In the men’s race, the Raiders occupied three of the top five spots. 

Leading the race for the Raiders was sophomore Chayce Macknair, who finished second overall after another battle with ESU’s Casey Ellis. Macknair led the SU pack with a time of 16:08.6. He had an average mile time of 5:11.4.

Taking the No. 2 runner spot for the men’s team, once again, was sophomore Andrew Dailey, who reached a time of 16:35.1 and averaged a mile time of 5:20.0.  

Shippensburg’s freshman standout Hayden Hunt claimed the No. 3 runner title for SU. Hunt had a time of 16.47.6 and paced an average 5.24-mile time. Hunt edged out ESU’s Theodore Mostellar by less than a second to get a fourth-place overall finish for the Raiders.

The men’s team would end up defeating Kutztown in the event by over a five-second margin and totaled 26 points. 

The Raiders would occupy five spots in the Top 8 with additional runners finishing seventh and eighth in the race. This is the second meet win for the men’s team this year. They tallied 17 points. 

The women’s cross-country team was also dominant in its race at the invitational Saturday. The women’s team earned 26 points, beating out East Stroudsburg, Kutztown and Shepherd.

In the lead for the Raiders was sophomore Isabelle Gulgert, besting the remainder of the field and taking first place overall. Gulgert had a time of 20:30.9. She had an average mile time of 6:35.8.

Shippensburg junior Kyra Gerber took second place. Gerber notched a time of 20:38.7 and had an average mile time of 6:38.3.  

East Stroudsburg’s Amanda Fine would come in third place, with a time of 20:49.5 and an average mile time of 6:41.8.

Behind Gulgert’s and Gerber’s impressive afternoon, the Raiders marked fifth and seventh place finishes thanks to the freshman duo of Isabelle Weikert and Leah Moffitt. 

East Stroudsburg finished with 34 points, good enough for second place. East Stroudsburg would have runners in third , fourth, eighth and ninth places. Kutztown placed third with 65 points.

Saturday’s meet concluded the regular season for the men’s and women’s cross-country teams.  

The men’s team finished the regular season with two 1st place finishes in their two regular season meets. The women’s team finished the season with the first-place tally Saturday, following a third-place curtain at the Lock Haven Winter Invite the week prior. 

Both teams will now prepare for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships March 20.

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