Shippensburg University’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams dominated the team score at the Galen Piper Cross Country Challenge to win the Owl trophy on the campus recreation fields Friday night.
Both SU teams had runners finish 3-4-5-6-7 to win the team score with 25 points scored, while the second-place teams, Elizabethtown for the men and Bloomsburg for the women, each scored 56 points.
The men celebrated consecutive wins in the team score after winning the Owl last year.
Daniel Myers from Elizabethtown took home the victory, with Shippensburg alumnus and All-American Matt Gillette placing second in the 6K race. Senior Aiden Gonder led the Raiders with his third-place finish.
Right behind Gonder, junior Ryan Wolfe placed fourth in front of freshman Tommy Crum Jr. in fifth place. Junior Garrett Quinan finished in sixth place before graduate Ian Sherlock in seventh. Sophomore Brennan Wellock placed eighth and freshman Ramon Urena placed 10th to complete the strong team finish in the Top 10.
The men ran most of the race together as a pack and picked up the race at the 4K mark. This was one of the goals for the race, according to Gonder.
“The main goal was not to push ourselves too hard, not to get out of the gates too crazy yet, run as a group and to get back into the team dynamic and really just have fun and roll with the boys,” Gonder said.
The women’s team won the team score for the second time in three years, after they took the Owl trophy home in 2022. Like the men, they finished 3-4-5-6-7-8 in the individual 4K race.
The Raiders were led by junior Kelsey Hull in third place. Fourth-place finisher freshman Ella Hartel in her collegiate debut was closely followed by senior Victoria Mattioli in fifth place. Junior Livi Rieck placed sixth, right in front of freshmen Victoria Bartholomew and Shaela Kruskie in seventh and eighth place, respectively.
SU went out front with their pack from the start and stayed together for most of the race. Toward the end, Hull took off to follow the two girls in the lead but was never able to pass them. Kelty Oaster from Elizabethtown won the race in front of Kelley Selheimer from Bloomsburg.
Speaking about her performance, Hull highlighted the importance of her teammates for her third-place finish.
“I’m very proud. I couldn’t have done this without my teammates,” Hull said. “Livi Rieck, Victoria Mattioli, everyone, we were all in a pack, pushing each other. My result is not a product of just myself but a product of our team.”
The Raiders seek to continue their pack mentality and strong team work on Friday at the Division II Challenge hosted by Kutztown.
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