TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Allegheny College men's cross country program was voted as the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) favorite this fall, according to the league's annual preseason coaches' poll. The results of this year's poll, voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches, were released Tuesday along with the PAC's Runners to Watch List.  

The Gators, led by seventh-year head coach Ben Mourer, were first on six ballots and scored 90 points to be voted as the favorite to win their first PAC title since 1979. Allegheny placed five runners in the top 15 last fall to score 56 points and finish second at PAC Championships.

Coming in second place in the preseason poll was Saint Vincent College and eighth-year head coach Kevin Wanichko, who secured three first-place votes and 85 points, just edging out Geneva College, who had a pair of first-place votes and 84 total points to rank third. Saint Vincent also enters the season ranked seventh in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region preseason rankings.

It was also very close between the next two teams in the poll, with Washington & Jefferson College totaling 70 points to take fourth place, just in front of Grove City College (68), who has won a PAC-high 21 league titles.

Three-time defending PAC champion Franciscan University, whose four runners in the top 12 at last year's Championships helped the Barons finish with 41 points to win the 2022 title, totaled 60 points to come in sixth in the preseason poll. They were followed by Waynesburg University in seventh (50), Chatham University in eighth (32), Thiel College and Westminster College tied for ninth (24) and Bethany College in 11th (18). 

The 2023 Runners to Watch list is highlighted by 10 returning all-conference performers, including two First Team All-PAC selections, four Second Team All-PAC selections and four Honorable Mention All-PAC runners from last fall. 

Saint Vincent senior Tim Patterson (Butler, Pa. /Butler) and sophomore Brady Sundin (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), as well as Geneva junior Kevin Arseneaux (Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional) are among those featured on this year's Runners to Watch list.

Patterson is the top returning runner from last year's PAC Championship meet, as he earned his third straight First Team All-PAC accolade by finishing second in 25:55.66. He was also the Bearcats' top runner at the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional by placing 33rd, which helped Saint Vincent finish 10th as a team. 

Arseneaux was also a First Team All-PAC runner last fall, placing third at the conference meet just behind Patterson. Arseneaux bettered his time by two seconds a couple weeks later at the Mid-Atlantic Regional, crossing the finish line in 25:59.1 to place 23rd overall and earn All-Region distinction.

Sundin returns for his sophomore year with Saint Vincent after he was recognized as the 2022 PAC Newcomer of the Year. He finished in ninth place at PAC Championships with a time of 26:37.43 to earn the top first-year award and Second Team All-PAC. 

The Runners to Watch list also includes 13 members of the Fall 2022 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.

The 2023 PAC Championships will be hosted by Thiel on Saturday, Oct. 28th, at the Greenville Airport. The men's 8,000-meter race will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women's 6,000-meter race at 12 p.m.

The 10 Division III regional championships are scheduled for Saturday, November 11. Bethany, Chatham, Geneva, Grove City, Saint Vincent, Thiel, W&J, Waynesburg and Westminster will compete in the Mid-Atlantic region, while Allegheny and Franciscan will compete in the Great Lakes region. The Division III Mid-Atlantic Championships will be hosted by Susquehanna University at Lock Haven University's West Branch Cross Country Course, while John Carroll University will host the Division III Great Lakes Championships at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio near Akron. 

The Division III Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18 in Newville, Pa. Dickinson College will host the national championships at Big Spring High School. 
 

2023 PAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2022 Conference finishes
1. Allegheny College (6)	90	2nd (of 10) at PAC Championships, 56 pts.
2. Saint Vincent College (3)	85	4th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 80 pts.
3. Geneva College (2)	84	3rd (of 10) at PAC Championships, 67 pts.
4. Washington & Jefferson College	70	6th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 132 pts.
5. Grove City College	68	5th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 114 pts.
6. Franciscan University	60	1st (of 10) at PAC Championships, 41 pts.
7. Waynesburg University	50	7th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 211 pts.
8. Chatham University	32	9th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 272 pts.
9. Thiel College	24	8th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 246 pts.
10. Westminster College	24	10th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 293 pts.
11. Bethany College	18	Individuals only at PAC Championships

2023 PAC Men's Cross Country Runners to Watch
1=2023 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention

Allegheny College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Caleb Freeman (2)	So.	Killingworth, Conn./Haddam-Killingworth
Peter Lantz (2)	Sr.	Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg
Colm Mulligan	Sr.	Chestnut Hill, Mass./Brookline

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Adrian Ballestero	So.	Alexandria, Va./Alexandria Friends
Sebastian Ballestero	Jr.	Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams
Jacob Soyars	So.	Kent, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt

 

Chatham University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Ben Brown	Jr.	Indiana, Pa./Indiana
Ethan Kelley	Jr.	Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem
Brady Wingeart	Jr.	King George, Va./King George

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Conal Delaney (HM)	Jr.	Green Bay, Wisc./Mother of Divine Grace
Nate Tokarsky	Sr.	Norwalk, Ohio/St. Paul
Andrew Madigan	So.	Lawrenceville, N.J./The Wilberforce School

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Kevin Arseneaux (1)	Jr.	Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional
Tommy Corbin	So.	Fleetwood, Pa./Lighthouse Christian Academy
Eli Eisenberger	So.	York, Pa./Central York
Evan Freil	So.	Hanover, Pa./South Western
Karter Reath	So.	Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Jacob Colbert	So.	Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Nordonia
Caleb Hawke (HM)	So.	Grove City, Pa./Grove City
Luke Roberts	So.	Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls
Michael Singley (2)	So.	Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita
James Yoho	Fr.	Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
John Hurley	Sr.	Sterling, Va./Homeschool
Aiden Jackson (HM)	Jr.	Carroll, Ohio/William V. Fisher
Tim Patterson (1)	Sr.	Butler, Pa./Butler
Brady Sundin (2)	So.	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Ethan Wymer	Jr.	Butler, Pa./Knoch

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Matt Beuermann	Gr.	Tasmania, Australia
Nate Turner	So.	Conneaut Lake, Pa./Conneaut Area
Andrew Yocum	Fr.	Boardman, Ohio/Boardman

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Dom Flitcraft	Fr.	Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell
Raine Gratzmiller	So.	Butler, Pa./Butler
Julian Paul (HM)	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour
Brock Pennington	Jr.	North East, Pa./North East
Jake Sinclair	Jr.	Beallsville, Pa./Bethlehem-Center

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Andrew Kasper	Sr.	Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park
Lucas Means	Fr.	Boise, Idaho/Boise
Christian Michaels	So.	West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflina
Quintin Weaver	Gr.	Rimersburg, Pa./Union
Luke Whisel	Jr.	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Dennis Jones	Fr.	West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex