By Akshay Kripalani Staff writer
Susquehanna’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams travelled to DeSales on Nov. 12 to compete in the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional meet. The men’s team finished 28th out of 52 teams while the women’s team finished 16th out of 52 teams.
Johns Hopkins won the men’s meet with a one-point margin over Haverford.
Susquehanna’s top finisher for the men’s team was sophomore Ciaran Fisher who was 120th overall with an eight-kilometer time of 27:13.
Junior Kyle Skelton finished just two seconds behind Fisher, posting a time of 27:15. Next for the River Hawks was senior Justin Skavery, who crossed the line at 27:50. He was followed by seniors Mark Harrel, with a time of 28:05, and John Matthews, with a time of 28:08. Junior Eric Pressler finished at the 29:50 mark and freshman Brandon Sorge finished at 30:04.
Both Matthews and Pressler finished with personal records to end the season.
In the women’s meet, Johns Hopkins ran away with the team title.
The Blue Jays finished with 38 points, beating second-place Dickinson by 82 points. Susquehanna had 454 points.
Senior Amy Kaschak placed 30th overall with a six-kilometer time of 22:47.
Kaschak’s 30th-place finish earned her All-Region recognition. All-Region honors are awarded to the top 35 finishers.
Other notable racers were junior Hannah Stauffer who was next across the finish line for Susquehanna, posting a time of 23:52. She was followed by junior Seema Tailor, who finished at the 24:13 mark and senior Rachel Daley at the 24:36 mark. Also finishing in under 25 minutes for the River Hawks were senior Megan Wright at 24:44, junior Kailyn Reilly at 24:45 and freshman Erin Reese at 24:53.
The event was the last race of the season for the cross-country teams, but many of the athletes will continue running with the indoor track and field teams, which compete beginning in December.