Women's Cross Country | 10/31/2026 11:58:00 PM

CANFIELD, Ohio (pacathletics.org) - Behind four First Team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) runners, Grove City College captured the 2026 PAC Women's Cross Country Championship, their first since 2023 and 29th in program history.

The 2026 PAC Championships were hosted at Youngstown State University's Brian, Charlotte, Jersey, Beau Gorby Family Championship Cross Country Course at MetroParks Farm in Canfield, Ohio, the first time the PAC Cross Country Championships were held at YSU.

With four of the first six runners to score in the meet, Grove City totaled 48 points, well in front of runner-up Franciscan University, who finished second with 76 points, and Washington & Jefferson College, who was third with 88 points. Complete team scores are available at the link above.

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. 

This was the first season Saint Francis University competed at the conference meet. The Red Wolves were not counted in the 2026 team scoring, as they are not eligible for the PAC team championship while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Five of their runners did earn PAC Coaches Honors, which were given in lieu of all-conference recognition if they finished in the top 21. The first women's runner to cross the finish line at the 2026 PAC Championships was Saint Francis junior Nina Connors, who finished the 6K course in 22:00.0, while SFU junior Rosemary Gaydos was third. They were two of five Red Wolves' runners to garner PAC Coaches Honors.

Saint Vincent junior Grace Neubert captured the PAC individual championship after completing race in a time of 22:34.0. She was the first runner from a championship-eligible PAC institution to cross the finish line and became the first SVC runner to earn a PAC title since 2011. Neubert joins Ivette Meija, a two-time title winner in 2010 and 2011, as the only Bearcats to be PAC champions.

Neubert was recognized as the PAC champion, but the conference's Runner of the Year will be determined by a vote from the PAC coaches following the NCAA Championships.
 
The stream of Grove City runners that fueled their championship started with senior Cayla Lawrence being credited with second place by racing to a time 22:51.6. Following less than a second behind her was junior Rebekah Burger in 22:52.3 and freshman Josie Jones took fourth by finishing in 23:14.5. That effort by Jones gave her First Team All-PAC honors, as well as the PAC Newcomer of the Year award as the top finishing freshman. Jones is the first Grove City runner to earn the top newcomer honor since Lydia Bennett in 2021.
 
The list of First Team All-PAC runners also included W&J sophomore Emily Frankovich, who placed fifth; junior Julianna Lindberg rounding out Grove City's top performers with a sixth-place showing; and Allegheny College's Gabriella Palmer, who was seventh.

Complete individual results can also be found at the link above.

Following the meet, third-year Grove City head coach Paul Collier was chosen as the PAC Coach of the Year, his first conference coaching recognition.

The PAC also released its 2026 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.

Teams now move on to the Division III regional championships, which are scheduled for Saturday, November 14th. Bethany, 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 Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Pa., while the Division III Great Lakes Championships will be hosted by the University of Olivet and Lansing Sports Commission in East Lansing, Mich. 

The 2026 Division III Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21st and will be hosted by Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.  

   

First Team All-PAC
Name	School	Place	Year	Hometown/High School
Grace Neubert	Saint Vincent	1st	Jr.	St. Mary's, Pa./ Elk County Catholic
Cayla Lawerence	Grove City	2nd	Sr.	Mendon, N.Y./ Honeoye Falls-Lima
Rebekah Burger	Grove City	3rd	Jr.	San Diego, Calif./Cambridge
Josie Jones	Grove City	4th	Fr.	Grove City, Pa./Grove City
Emily Frankovich	W&J	5th	So.	McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry
Julianna Lindberg	Grove City	6th	Jr.	Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central
Gabriella Palmer	Allegheny	7th	So.	Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley