LEBANON, Pa. --- The Moravian University women's cross country team finished as the runner-up by one point at the 2024 Landmark Conference Championships hosted by Elizabethtown College Saturday at Union Canal Tunnel Park. 

How It Happened

• The Greyhounds scored 60 points, finish one point behind champion The Catholic University of America and one point ahead of third place The University of Scranton
• Junior Tara Smurla led Moravian with a fourth place finish among the 105 runners in a time of 22:10.34 in the 6,000-meter race to earn Landmark All-Conference First Team honors
• Senior Amber Poniktera placed eighth in a time of 23:02.41 while junior Tori Champagne took ninth in 23:08.00 to garner spots on the Landmark All-Conference Second Team
• Sophomore Alexis Hockenberry finished 19th in 24:03.76 to earn a spot on the Landmark All-Conference Honorable Mention Team while sophomore Kayla O'Neil was 20th in a time of 24:10.32 to round out Moravian's top five scoring runners
• Sophomore Alyssa Hockenberry took 22nd in 24:14.05 while junior Meghan Myers was 24th in 24:17.44 and senior Lexi Rushatz finished 31st in a time of 24:30.45
• Freshman Celia Knoedler placed 33rd overall in 24:34.70 while senior Ally Meeks took 39th at 25:58.60
• Senior Hannah Kolonoski was 42nd in a time of 25:03.67 while junior Sarah Rice finished 45th at 25:06.37 and sophomore Kierstyn Klingner took 49th in 25:22.03
• Senior Rachael Goodman finished in 51st place in a time of 25:31.17 while freshman Katherine Board was 52nd at 25:33.16
• Also running for the Greyhounds were senior Lily Mingora in 55th at 25:41.47, junior Elena Bocchetti in 56th with a time of 25:42.07, freshman Caroline Emmerich in 66th at 26:34.70, freshman Emerson Beamer in 74th in 26:49.70 and senior Rylie Murphy in 76th at 27:05.20

Quotable from Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jesse Baumann

• "We knew it would be a coin flip kind of meet. And as it turns out, that's exactly what happened at multiple checkpoints in the middle of the race. It would flip two points for the margin between us, Catholic and Scranton. In the end, we had some phenomenal closes from people like Amber Poniktera and Tori Champagne in the last 800m, who flipped the score in our favor versus Scranton. But it just wasn't quite enough against Catholic. It was a phenomenal meet for the women. They did everything we could ask. Catholic just had the best day of everyone today. We could not be prouder of the effort our team put in."

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Saturday, November 16 at 2024 NCAA Division III Metro Regional hosted by Stockton (N.J.) University, 11:00 a.m.
• Saturday, November 23 at 2024 NCAA Division III National Championships hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. (if qualify), 11:00 a.m.