TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Saint Vincent College, last year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's cross country champion, was voted to repeat as conference winner 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 Friday, along with the PAC's Runners to Watch List.  

The Bearcats, who had five all-conference runners at last year's PAC Championships to win their ninth league title, pulled in six first-place votes and 90 points to narrowly edge out Washington & Jefferson College, who finished second in the poll with four first-place votes and 89 points.

Not far back in third place in the voting was Geneva College, as the Golden Tornadoes, who have the 2023 PAC Runner of the Year back this season, scored 83 points and had one first-place vote. Ranking fourth was Grove City College with 70 points, while Allegheny College came in fifth with 61 and Franciscan University was sixth with 59.

Rounding out the poll was Waynesburg University in seventh (51), Westminster College in eighth (40), Chatham University in ninth (26), Thiel College (25) and Bethany College (11).

This year's Runners to Watch list is highlighted by 14 returning all-conference performers, including the 2023 Runner and Newcomer of the Year. In all, five First Team All-PAC runners, six Second Team All-PAC honorees and three Honorable Mention All-PAC runners are back from last fall. 

Ninth-year Saint Vincent head coach Kevin Wanichko, who earned PAC Coach of the Year for the first time after his team's championship last year, has four all-conference runners on the Watch list. They include graduate student Tim Patterson (Butler, Pa. /Butler), who took third overall at PAC Championships last year, and his teammate, senior Ethan Wymer (Butler, Pa./Knoch), earned seventh place to collect First Team distinction.

Both Patterson and Wymer added All-Region honors following PAC Championships, as Patterson placed ninth and Wymer was 23rd at the Mid-Atlantic Regional meet. For Patterson, his performance qualified him for NCAA Division III National Championships. Patterson became the first Saint Vincent men's runner to earn a spot in the national race since Chansler Poole in 2013.

The Runners to Watch list also features Geneva junior Kevin Arseneaux (Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional), the 2023 PAC Runner of the Year, and W&J sophomore Dominic Flitcraft (Aliquipa, Pa./Hopewell), last year's PAC Newcomer of the Year. Arseneaux broke the tape at PAC Championships by finishing first overall in the 114-runner field with a time of 25:52.44 to become the first Golden Tornado to capture the PAC individual championship in cross country. He later claimed All-Region honors at the Mid-Atlantic race with a 35th place finish, his second straight All-Region award.

The second place finisher at PAC Championships in 2023 was Flitcraft, who earned First Team All-PAC and conference Newcomer of the Year as the highest placing freshman. He finished in a time of 26:05.42 to become just the second President to earn the top newcomer honor in the conference (Paul Collier, 2019). Flitcraft would also secure All-Region recognition when he placed 23rd with a time of 25:24.7, the second-fastest time by a freshman in the Mid-Atlantic race.

The final First Team All-PAC member returning for 2024 is Flitcraft's teammate, W&J senior Brock Pennington (North East, Pa./North East). He finished fourth a season ago for the initial all-conference honor of his career.

Another runner to keep an eye this year is Franciscan graduate student Miguel Daez (Sterling, Va./Holy Family Homeschool). A three-time First Team All-PAC runner, Daez was the 2022 Runner of the Year in the conference and returns this season after not competing in 2023.

The Runners to Watch list also includes 10 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. 5th 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 at Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 

2024 PAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023 Conference finishes
1. Saint Vincent College (6)	90	1st (of 10) at PAC Championships, 56 pts.
2. Washington & Jefferson College  (4)	89	2nd (of 10) at PAC Championships, 71 pts.
3. Geneva College (1)	83	5th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 102pts.
4. Grove City College	70	4th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 99 pts.
5. Allegheny College	61	3rd (of 10) at PAC Championships, 76 pts.
6. Franciscan University	59	7th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 165 pts.
7. Waynesburg University	51	6th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 155 pts.
8. Westminster College	40	9th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 268 pts.
9. Chatham University	26	10th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 286 pts.
10. Thiel College	25	8th (of 10) at PAC Championships, 241 pts.
11. Bethany College	11	Individuals only at PAC Championships

2024 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)	Jr.	Killingworth, Conn./Haddam-Killingworth
Nick Gallo	So.	Chester, W.Va./Oak Glen
Cole Jooste	Jr.	Upper St Clair, Pa./Upper St Clair

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Alexander Blair	So.	Frederick, Va./Chancellor

 

Chatham University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Kenny Battistelli	So.	Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon
Demetrius Broadnax	So.	Monroeville, Pa./Redeemer Lutheran
Ben Brown	Sr.	Indiana, Pa./Indiana
E Kelley	Sr.	Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Miguel Daez	Grad.	Sterling, Va./Holy Family Homeschool
Conal Delaney (2)	Sr.	Green Bay, Wisc./Mother of Divine Grace

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Kevin Arseneaux (1)	Sr.	Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional
Tommy Corbin	Jr.	Fleetwood, Pa./Lighthouse Christian Academy
Eli Eisenberger	Jr.	York, Pa./Central York
Benjamin Perka	Jr.	Freeport, Pa./Freeport
Karter Reath (HM)	Jr.	Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg

 

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

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Aiden Jackson (HM)	Sr.	Carroll, Ohio/William V. Fisher
Tim Patterson (1)	Grad.	Butler, Pa./Butler
Jeff Raynor	Sr.	Lyndhurst, Ohio/The Lyceum School
Brady Sundin (2)	Jr.	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Ethan Wymer (1)	Sr.	Butler, Pa./Knoch

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Nate Turner	Jr.	Conneaut Lake, Pa./Conneaut Area
Andrew Yocum	So.	Boardman, Ohio/Boardman

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Daniel Deal (HM)	Sr.	Butler, Pa./Knoch
Dom Flitcraft (1)	So.	Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell
Julian Paul (2)	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour
Brock Pennington (1)	Sr.	North East, Pa./North East

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Kyle Casella	So.	Clarksboro, N.J./Kingsway
Chris Fox	Fr.	Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area
Aidan McGee	Fr.	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan
Luke Whisel	Sr.	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Ethan Wilson	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Redeemer Lutheran

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Dane Fasick	Sr.	New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton
Dennis Jones	So.	West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex