TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After winning their first conference crown since 2015 last fall, the Grove City College women's cross country program was voted as the favorite to repeat as Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champions this fall, according to the league's annual preseason coaches' poll. The results of this year's poll, voted on by the PAC's 11 head coaches, were announced with the PAC's Runners to Watch List Friday. 

The Wolverines, who will be under the guidance of first-year head coach Paul Collier, collected eight first-place votes and 96 points to finish on top in the voting. Collier was previously the assistant at Washington & Jefferson College and helped coach current W&J junior Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown) to the individual PAC title at last year's Championships and Anderson and teammate Cassie Carr would both qualify for NCAA Championships.

Last year's runner-up in the team standings was Allegheny College and the Gators came in second in this year's preseason poll with a pair of first-place votes and 88 total points. Geneva College, who placed third as a team last year behind a pair of eventual national qualifiers, came in third in this year's polling with 77 points, while Saint Vincent College was fourth with 74.

W&J finished fifth in the poll with 67 points, followed by Franciscan University, who gathered the final first-place vote and 60 points. In seventh place was Waynesburg University with 46 points, then came Westminster College in eighth (34), Chatham University in ninth (30), Thiel College (22) and Bethany College (11).

This season’s Runners to Watch list features 15 All-PAC runners from a season ago, including six First Team All-PAC honorees, six Second Team All-PAC runners and three Honorable Mention performers from last fall. 

W&J's Anderson highlights a strong list of Runners to Watch. She was the first to the championship finish line last season in a time of 21:51.02 to earn PAC Runner of the Year, as well as First Team All-PAC. In the process, she became the first President to win Female Runner of the Year since Kristen Galligan in 2021.

A pair of Geneva runners claimed the next two spots behind Anderson and earned First Team All-PAC. Junior Carmen Medvit (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) was the runner up, taking second place with a time of 22:05.97, while her junior teammate Hailey Carroll (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap) took third place when she crossed in 22:23.37. 

The top three runners in the PAC would also excel at the Regional meet. Carroll placed second, while Medvit was third and Anderson crossed in 10th to earn All-Mid-Atlantic Region laurels and qualify for NCAA Championships. It was Medvit's second consecutive trip to the national championships, while Anderson and Carroll qualified for the first time.

Also returning this season was the top runner in Grove City's 2023 championship performance in senior Lydia Bennett (Bethel, Maine/Gould Academy), who earned fourth place overall to garner First Team All-PAC honors. Bennett led a Wolverine effort that saw five runners place in the top 19 to lead Grove City to its 28th PAC championship in the 40 years the women's cross country championships have been held. Bennett would later earn her third consecutive All-Region honor when she placed 16th overall at the Mid-Atlantic meet.

Also featured on the Runners to Watch list is the other major PAC award winner from 2023. Taking sixth place was Franciscan sophomore Lauren Dosch (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River) and as the highest placing first-year runner last season, she earned PAC Newcomer of the Year in addition to First Team All-PAC, becoming the first Franciscan runner to receive that newcomer honor.

The final First Team All-PAC runner from last year returning to compete is Allegheny senior Nelly Stafford (Middletown, Md./Middletown). After earning Second Team the previous year, Stafford moved up to First Team by placing seventh last season. She will try to lead the Gators to their second conference crown in three seasons, as Allegheny won the 2022 title in their first year back in the conference.

The Runners to Watch list also includes 26 members of the Fall 2023 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.

The 2024 PAC Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 2nd at the Lawrence County Fairground Cross Country Course in New Castle, Pa. The women's 6,000-meter race will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 12 p.m.

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 on the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 

2024 PAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023 Conference finishes
1. Grove City College (8)	96	1st (of 11) at PAC Championships, 61 pts.
2. Allegheny College (2)	88	2nd (of 11) at PAC Championships, 67 pts.
3. Geneva College	77	3rd (of 11) at PAC Championships, 82 pts.
4. Saint Vincent College	74	5th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 109 pts.
5. Washington & Jefferson College	67	4th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 85 pts.
6. Franciscan University (1)	60	6th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 118 pts.
7. Waynesburg University	46	7th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 193 pts.
8. Westminster College	34	9th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 259 pts.
9. Chatham University	30	8th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 258 pts.
10. Thiel College	22	10th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 299 pts.
11. Bethany College	11	11th (of 11) at PAC Championships, 333 pts.

2024 PAC Women'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
Marrin Crist (2)	Sr.	Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg
Celia Cocca (2)	Sr.	East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora
Nelly Stafford (1)	Sr.	Middletown, Md./Middletown

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Mary Tracey	So.	Clarksburg, W.Va./Liberty

 

Chatham University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Adrian David	Sr.	Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove
Cami Noll	So.	White Oak, Pa./McKeesport
Kendall Sirignano	Sr.	Bay Village, Ohio/Bay Village
Piper Young	So.	Pine City, N.Y./Notre Dame

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lauren Dosch (1)	So.	Grand Forks, N.D./Red River
Claire Walters	Sr.	Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Hailey Carroll (1)	Jr.	Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap
Madison Castro (2)	Sr.	Colorado Springs, Colo./Evangelical Christian Academy
Carmen Medvit (1)	Jr.	New Castle, Pa./Shenango
Catherine O'Donnell	Sr.	Blairsville, Pa./Homeschool

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lydia Bennett (1)	Sr.	Bethel, Maine/Gould Academy
Audrey Karwowski (2)	Jr.	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan
Grace Smith	Sr.	Dover, Ohio/Dover
Virginia Williams (HM)	Sr.	Copley, Ohio/Copley

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lauran Brennan (HM)	Grad.	Saint Leonard, Md./Calvert
Miranda Cincotta (2)	Jr.	Emmitsburg, Md./St. John's Catholic Prep.
Cassy Lanza	Jr.	Shermans Dale, Pa./West Perry
Grace Neubert	Fr.	Saint Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic
Kristen Prince	Jr.	Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lillianna Briscoe	Grad.	Beaver Falls, Pa./Quigley Catholic
Madalyn Semmler	So.	Butler, Pa./Butler

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Claire Anderson (1)	Jr.	Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown
Marie Gilles (HM)	Jr.	North Ridgeville, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy
Grace Reid-Vensel	So.	Washington, Pa./Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School
Genevieve Ruth	So.	Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Jaylene Mundorff	Sr.	Cross Creek, Pa./Avella
Reagan Pettis	Jr.	West Springfield, Pa./Northwestern
Lilly Ryer	Jr.	Indiana, Pa./Marion Center
Taylor Severt	Fr.	Howard, Ohio/East Knox
Grace Tanksley (2)	Jr.	Bedford, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Monica Curtis	Jr.	Harborcreek, Pa./Harbor Creek