Macknair wins individual title; Men’s XC finishes second at PSAC Championships

Junior Chayce Macknair became the first Raider since 1980 to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) men’s individual cross country championship on Friday at the 2021 PSAC Championships at Kutztown University.

Macknair finished the 8k race in 25:47, a three-second victory over Edinboro’s Ward Ries. With the win he nabs his third straight All-PSAC first team classification.

Macknair became just the second Raider to claim a PSAC men’s individual title, joining Gregg Sanders who was awarded first place in 1980.

Sanders actually crossed the finish line at the same time as former SU teammate Gary Bicking, but the finish line official determined that there could not be a tie and awarded Sanders first place.

The men’s cross country team finished in second place in the championships posting 71 points, behind Edinboro. This is the 19th second place finish in SU history and the third time in the last four years.

Edinboro had runners placed 2-3-4-8-15 to help give them the team win as the four runners in the Top 8 proved too much for Shippensburg.

Six Raiders recorded All-PSAC finishes, which is the most for SU in four years. Sophomore Hayden Hunt finished in fifth place at 26:03 giving him back-to-back All-PSAC first team nominations.

Fellow sophomore Aiden Gonder received his first All-PSAC first team classification with a 13th place finish, running a time of 26:47. Gonder improves upon his second team honors he received last season.

Junior Kevin Wagner finished 25th at 27:02, freshman Jacob Mavretic finished at 27:09 for 27th and sophomore Ian Sherlock finished in 29th at 27:12.

All three runners earned All-PSAC second team honors with their respective finishes, the first such classifications in the collegiate careers of Wagner and Mavretic.

Freshman Mitchell Brett finished just one spot shy of a All-PSAC finish in 31st place with a 27:17 time.

The Raiders will recharge and recover before returning to action in two weeks at the 2021 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships at Lock Haven University on Saturday, Nov. 6.