Allegheny Earns 2024 PAC Women's Cross Country Title

11/2/2024 11:59:39 PM

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Behind six all-conference runners, including three who earned First Team, the Allegheny College women's cross country team won the 2024 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship, the second title in three years for the Gators. The championships were held at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds in New Castle, Pa.

Led by their bevy of all-conference runners, Allegheny scored 45 points to easily outdistance the field, including runner-up and defending champion Grove City College, who scored 64, and third place Saint Vincent College, who totaled 75.

Fourth place went to Franciscan University with 84 points, while Washington & Jefferson College was in fifth place with 124. Rounding out the rest of the competing teams was Geneva College in sixth place (129), Waynesburg University in seventh (210), Chatham University in eighth (249), Thiel College in ninth (274), Westminster College in 10th (283) and Bethany College (325).


While Allegheny won the team title, the PAC Runner of the Year award was earned by Grove City senior Lydia Bennett. She broke the tape in a time of 21:54.30 to place first overall, which also earned her First Team All-PAC. This marks the 23rd time in the 41-year history of PAC women's cross country that a Grove City female has won Runner of the Year and the first time since Emily Rabenold won her third consecutive title in 2015.

Bennett had to beat out last year's PAC Runner of the Year for this year's crown. W&J junior Claire Anderson, the top runner at the 2023 Championships, completed this year's race in a time of 21:28.70, four seconds off the top time. Anderson collected her third All-PAC award with her performance and second straight First Team recognition.

Coming in third was the PAC Newcomer of the Year in Saint Vincent freshman Grace Neubert. She earned the conference recognition after being the initial first-year runner to come across the finish line, posting a time of 22:32.60. In addition to being a First Team All-PAC honoree with the time, Neubert also became the second Saint Vincent runner to earn the newcomer award, joining current Bearcat junior Kristen Prince, who won the honor in 2022.

Allegheny's string of top finishers that led to their championship began with fourth place, where Gator junior Chloe Bonson placed. She was followed by Allegheny seniors Marrin Crist and Nelly Stafford in fifth and seventh, respectively. For Stafford, it was her second consecutive seventh place showing and her second straight First Team All-PAC accolade. 

Taking sixth place was Franciscan senior Claire Walters, her second straight First Team All-PAC effort, as she was the conference champion in 2022 before not competing last season.


After his team captured the PAC title, Allegheny head coach Ben Mourer was voted as the PAC Coach of the year for the second time in the last three years.

The top seven finishers in both the men's and women's races received All-PAC First Team recognition, while runners finishing eighth through 14th earned All-PAC Second Team honors. Runners finishing 15th through 21st received All-PAC Honorable Mention recognition. 

The PAC also released its 2024 PAC Sportsmanship Team Saturday. The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams.

The 10 Division III regional championships are scheduled for Saturday, November 16. 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 held at Lock Haven University's West Branch Cross Country Course, while the Division III Great Lakes Championships will be held in Shelbyville, Indiana at Blue River Park. 

The 2025 Division III Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 at Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. 

 
 First Team All-PAC
 Name School Place Year Hometown/High School
 Lydia Bennett Grove City 1st Sr. Bethel, Maine/Gould Academy
 Claire Anderson W&J 2nd Jr. Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown
 Grace Neubert Saint Vincent 3rd Fr. Saint Marys, Pa./Elk County Catholic
 Chloe Bonson Allegheny 4th Jr. Penn Township, Pa./Penn-Trafford
 Marrin Crist Allegheny 5th Sr. Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg Area
 Claire Walters Franciscan 6th Sr. Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius
 Nelly Stafford Allegheny 7th Sr. Middletown, Md./Middletown
 
 Second Team All-PAC
 Name School Place Year Hometown/High School
 Ella Lyle Grove City 8th Sr. Hurricane, W.Va./Ignite
 Lauren Dosch Franciscan 9th So. Grand Forks, N.D./Red River
 Miranda Cincotta Saint Vincent 10th Jr. Emmitsburg, Md./St. John's Catholic Prep
 Maria Gilles W&J 11th Jr. North Ridgeville, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy
 Celia Cocca Allegheny 12th Sr. East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora
 Grace Smith Grove City 13th Sr. Dover, Ohio/Dover
 Kristen Prince Saint Vincent 14th Jr. Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert
 
Honorable Mention All-PAC 
 Name School Place Year Hometown/High School
 Carmen Medvit Geneva 15th Jr. New Castle, Pa./Shenango
 Grace Tanksley Waynesburg 16th Jr. Bedford, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence
 Mazzie Standish Allegheny 17th Sr. Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny
 Jessica Campbell Franciscan 18th Sr. Medina, Ohio/Medina
 Julianna Lindberg Grove City 19th Fr. Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central
 Shyann Rulander Allegheny 20th So. Warren, Pa./Warren
 Cassy Lanza Saint Vincent 21st Jr. Shermans Dale, Pa./West Perry