BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University women's cross country team finished as the runner-up at the 2021 Landmark Conference Championships hosted by the Greyhounds at Bicentennial Park Saturday as the squad came up just one point shy of tying champion Susquehanna University. 

How It Happened

• Moravian scored 61 points in the meet while the River Hawks had 60 points. The tight field saw The University of Scranton garner 70 points and six-time defending champion Elizabethtown College score 73 points
• Senior Natalie Stabilito was the top Moravian finisher as she placed fourth of the 78 runners in the race with a time of 23:29.5 on the 6,000-meter course to earn Landmark All-Conference First Team honors with a top seven finish
• The Greyhounds also had a pair of runners earn All-Conference Second Team accolades for finishing between eighth and 14th. Sophomore Pia Mazzella DiBosco placed 10th in the race in a time of 24:28.2 while freshman Amber Poniktera took 12th in a PR time of 24:37.9
• Junior Rachel Byrne finished in 17th with a PR time of 24:53.6 while senior Emma Marion took 18th at 25:07.1, and she was followed by senior Santina Burak in 20th with a time of 25:16.4
• Freshman Lily Mingora posted a time of 26:33.4 to finish in 36th place while freshman Catie Lovett took 41st in 26:58.0 and freshman Hanna Kolonoski placed 45th in a time of 27:13.0
• Freshman Rachael Goodman finished 50th in 27:36.5 while freshman Gillian Schonenberg was 54th in 27:58.8 and freshman Rylie Murphy took 57th in a time of 28:15.5
• Rounding out the Moravian runners were junior Peyton Herbst in 68th place in 29:35.0 and freshman Ally Meeks at 69th in a time of 29:41.8 

Quotable from Head Coach Jesse Baumann

• "We knew coming in that Susquehanna was the favorite with a very potent top 3 but that our chance was to have our depth beat their depth at the 4-5 spot, and it couldn't have come closer to paying off."
• "We discussed the women starting out easily and then moving through the field which they executed perfectly, especially Pia Mazzella, Emma Marion, Rachel Byrne, and Amber Poniktera. Natalie Stabilito was huge for us breaking up Susquehanna's front pack and Santina Burak did all she could, but a calf injury wound up hindering her as the race progressed."
• "The women did all they could, and I honestly couldn't have asked for a single thing more from them, Susquehanna just had a better day. Obviously, we would have liked to have finished with 2 fewer points, but our staff couldn't be more proud of how they raced today!"

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Saturday, November 13 at NCAA Division III Metro Regional hosted by Rowan (N.J.) University, 11:00 a.m.