Women's Cross Country | 11/23/2025 1:45:00 AM
SPARTANBURG, S. C. – Washington & Jefferson College senior Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown) earned the second All-American honor of her decorated career Saturday when she finished third overall at the 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which were held at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, SC.
The third-place finish by Anderson is believed to be the highest by any PAC runner in conference history. She is also believed to be just the second PAC women's runner to be a two-time All-American, joining Elisa Pederson from Grove City College, who was a two-time honoree as well after she placed 13th in 2004 and followed that with a 27th place showing in 2005.
Anderson, who was 23rd in the nation last year to earn All-American status, jumped 20 spots in the final standings this year. She crossed the finish line in 21:13.4, finishing behind only Audrey Maclean from Middlebury and Jules Bleskoski from RPI. Anderson used a stellar finishing kick to jump several spots late in the race, moving up from seventh to finish in third place in the final 1000 meters.
In addition to becoming the first two-time All-American in W&J history, Anderson's finish at Nationals this season bested the previous top finish in the Presidents' cross country program history, which was held by Kristen Galligan from the 2012 season (12th place, 21:27.40).
The PAC had four women's runners compete Saturday. Geneva College seniors Hailey Carroll (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap) and Carmen Medvit (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) finished the course in 68th and 76th place, respectively, out of 290 runners. Like Anderson, both had outstanding final stretches to surpass numerous runners. Carroll, who finished in a time of 22:28.5, was in 97th place at the 4K mark before chasing down nearly 30 runners to take 68th place for her career-best NCAA placement, bettering her 91st place in 2023.
Medvit's efforts gave her two Top 80 finishes in the national meet. After finishing 64th in 2023, she used a time of 22:36.8 to earn 76th this year. Medvit's kick down the stretch allowed her to move from 91st place where she was at the 4K marker.
The fourth PAC runner in the women's field Saturday was Saint Vincent College sophomore Grace Neubert (Saint Marys, Pa./Elk County Catholic). The first SVC student-athlete in program history to compete in the NCAA national meet twice in her career, Neubert crossed in 108th place Saturday in a final time of 22:50.6.
For the men, the one PAC runner competing at NCAA Championships was junior Dominic Flitcraft (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell). It was his second consecutive trip to the national meet and after finishing 131st last year, Flitcraft slid into the top 100 this year by taking 91st place with a time of 25:14.3.