By Staff Writer, Zion Williams
Cross country is well underway this season and is starting to ramp up. Here’s everything you need to know about the season thus far:
The men’s cross country team opened up their season at the Galen Piper Challenge on Friday, Sept. 1. They finished ninth out of 12 teams on the day, as Shippensburg took the victory with 24 points.
In his collegiate debut, Maddon McNicholas ‘27 led the Bullets, as he posted a time of 20:19.2 and placed 37th overall out of 144 runners. He also registered the Bullets’ tenth-best time on this course over the last decade.
Mick Lorenger ‘26, Jayden Craig ‘27, Dominic DiLuzio ‘26, and Joe Zimbler ‘25 followed McNicholas, and all placed in the top 100. Lorenger and Zimbler beat their previous times on this course.
The Bullets then competed at the Little Three Meet on Thursday, Sept. 14, but fell 50-15 to Dickinson and 48-15 to Franklin and Marshall. McNicholas led the Bullets again, this time with an 18th overall finish and a time of 16:55.5 on the 5,000-meter course.
Lorenger, Josh Judson ‘25, Craig and DiLuzio followed McNicholas, as they placed 21st, 26th, 27th, and 28th respectively. Dickinson went on to beat Franklin and Marshall to win the Little Three Meet for the 26th straight time.
The Gettysburg men’s cross country team returns to action at the Lock Haven Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m.
The women’s cross country team also began their season at the Galen Piper Challenge. They finished fifth out of 13 teams, which included twelve competing schools and a team composed of Shippensburg Alumni. The Bullets’ fifth place showing was driven by five runners who found themselves in the top 50.
Carys Cook ’27 led the Bullets with a 16th place finish with a time of 15:36.6, a sixth-best time in the last decade on this course for the Bullets. Ava Crawford ‘25, Abbey Woodcome ‘26, Sarah Smith ’26 and Emily Trout ‘25 followed Cook, and all placed in the top 50. Crawford’s 15:57.1 time is the twelfth-best time for the Bullets in the last decade.
The Shippensburg Alumni won the event with 39 points.
Gettysburg returned to action at the annual Little Three Meet hosted by Franklin and Marshall, and managed to defeat the host 43-18, but ultimately fell to Dickinson 31-24. The Bullets placed five runners in the top 10 out of 35 runners.
Kathryn Hopkins ’25 led the Bullets, as she placed third on the 5,000-meter course with a time of 19:11.2, a Bullets sixth-best time at Franklin and Marshall, and ninth-best time in a Little Three Meet in the last 10 years.
Rowe Crawford ‘26, Elyse Tancini ‘27, Woodcome, and Trout followed Hopkins across the line in fourth, eighth, ninth, and tenth place respectively. Dickinson went on to win the crown for the 29th straight time, but their seven-point victory over Gettysburg was the closest since the 2009 Little Three Meet.
The Gettysburg Women’s cross country team returns to action at the Lock Haven Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m.
