Juniata Finishers Among Top at Landmark Conference Cross Country Championships

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College cross country team placed three in the top five during the Landmark Conference Championships Saturday at Fort Roberdeau.  The men's and women's team's finished fourth and third, respectively on the day.

Junior Nate Alter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) was the first Eagle across on the men's side.  He finished second overall in 26:45.70, his second fastest time this season.  Junior Katrina Woods (Shirleysburg, Pa./Mount Union) and senior Caroline Morgan (Haverton, Pa./Haverford Township) crossed 0.20 seconds away from each other in second and third place overall, respectively.  Woods' 23:08.40 and Morgan's 23:08.60 were their third fastest times this year.  The close times were no surprise as the pair have been within seconds of each other all season long.

Four other Eagles finished top 25. 

Junior Ryan Trexler (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) placed 14^th with a time of 27:52.70.  Sophomores Trevor Stephens (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and Nick Trapane (Thurmont, Md./Catoctin) crossed in 28:18.40 and 28:22.40 for 23^rd and 25^th place, respectively.

On the women's side, sophomore Alyssa Cousins (State College, Pa./State College) finished 17^th overall with a time of 25:27.30.

The Moravian College men's cross country team ran away with their second straight Landmark Conference title on Saturday while the Catholic University women's team claimed their first championship.

The men kicked things off first and Moravian's Dillon Farrell held an estimated 22 second lead after the first 5.5 kilometers. Farrell crossed the finish line first in the 8K race in 26:02.20, 43 seconds ahead of Alter.

The Greyhounds put four runners in the top five on their way to finishing with 39 points. Susquehanna University finished second in the race with 54 points and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy had their best finish since 2007, placing third with 75 points. Juniata was fourth with 92 points.

Drew senior Jennifer Van Wingerden won the women's race with a time of 22:52.20, 16 seconds ahead of Woods. Catholic, paced by Rebecca Radcliffe's fifth place finish in 23:34.20, had three runners in the top ten on the way to their first place finish with 63 points.

The 2011 champions, Moravian College finished second with 75 points and Juniata was third at 80 points with Scranton finishing fourth with 87 points.

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