TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College will host the 2016 Landmark Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 29. All eight Landmark teams will travel to Bicentennial Park in Northampton, Pa. to compete for the first title of the fall season.
To follow along with the championship, click here.
The men's eight-kilometer race will begin at 11 a.m., followed be the women's six-kilometer event at noon.
Elizabethtown College, winners of the last two Landmark men's team titles, placed all seven of its runners in the top-14 and totaled 16 points, a conference meet record at last year's championships. The Blue Jays graduated its top five scorers from 2015, including Performer of the Year Zach Trama. 2015 first teamers Keegan McDonough and Andrew Lesko will be expected to lead the pack this year.
Over the last two seasons, the Blue Jays have taken home the top-performer prize, leaving the 2016 wide open for a new individual performer. University of Scranton's Jimmy Buckley currently holds the fastest time in an eight-kilometer run. Buckley ran a 25:45.80 at the Interborder War at Rowan University on October 15. Juniata College's Conor Dimond has the second fastest time. Dimond ran his season best 26:10.00 at the DeSales Invitational on October 8. E-town's McDonough and Samuel Gerstenbacher rank fifth and eighth respectively in the top-10 times. McDonough's fastest time came at the DeSales Invite, finishing with a time of 26:19.00, while Gerstenbacher ran a 26:50.10 at the SUNY Geneseo Mike Woods Invitational in early October. Moravian College's Gavin Kemery and Connor Irwin occupy the fifth and seventh spots. Kemery ran a 26:31.80 at the Oberlin College Inter-Regional Rumble while Irwin posted a time of 26:48.90. Scranton's David de Leon, Catholic's Patrick Jones, and Juniata's Nick Simpson round out the top-10.
Elizabethtown women's team will look to three-peat in 2016 as the Landmark Champions. The Blue Jays scored 19 points at last year's meet, outdistancing themselves by 42 points over second place Susquehanna. The Blue Jays have now matched their male counterparts for the most consecutive conference titles in program history with nine (2007-15), which includes their time in the MAC. Senior Casey Quinto finished second at the Landmark Championships last year and could be in the discussion for individual champion heading into this year's meet. The Blue Jays also return Brenna McNamee, Briana Earnshaw, Maria Anderson, and Landmark Freshman of the Year Colleen Kernan.
Moravian's senior Meg Brockett has the best six-kilometer time this season. Brockett posted a time of 21:06.00 at the Paul Short Invitational on October 1. Teammate Sarah Hughes isn't far behind, holding the second fastest time of 21:48.50. Moravian freshman Katie Mayer will look to make a splash in her conference championship debut. Mayer enters the weekend with the fifth fastest time of 22:39.60. Susquehanna senior Amy Kaschak has had a solid fall campaign and will contend for the top spot at this year's races. Kaschak currently has the sixth fastest 6k time. Teammate Megan Wright and E-town's Kelsey Brady round out the top-10.
Results from the 2016 Championships will be posted online as soon as they are made available. Admission is free for all spectators.
The top seven finishers in both the men's and women's championship races will receive All-Landmark first team recognition, while runners placing eighth through 14th earn All-Landmark second team honors.
Release courtesy of Landmark Conference office
