HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College men’s and women’s cross country teams squared off against Messiah College and Gettysburg College in a tri-meet on Saturday, with the Eagle men’s team posting a split while the women’s squad fell to both the Falcons and the Bullets.
In the men’s 8k race, Matt Bailey (East Petersburg, Pa./Hempfield) finished second overall in a time of 27:05 – just four seconds off the winning time – to lead Juniata to a 16-47 win over Gettysburg. However Messiah posted six finishers among the top ten, leading the Falcons to a 22-25 win over Juniata.
Ceth Parker (Sabillasville, Md./Catoctin) was fifth overall with a time of 28:01, while Sam Williams (Roaring Spring, Pa./Central) was ninth in a time of 28:24.
Juniata’s next three finishers crossed the line in 14th through 16th place: Ryan Trexler in 29:09, Steve Schmitt in 29:18, and Jon Pfadenhauer in 29:35.
In the women’s 5k event, Laura Rupprecht (Brunswick, Md./Jefferson) was third in a time of 20:33, followed by Jessica Koenig in eighth place in 21:14. Newcomer Caroline Morgan (Havertown, Pa./Haverford Township) was ninth in 21:21.
Further down the list of finishers, Megan McQuillan (Severna Park, Md./Seton Keough) was 18th in a time of 21:53, with Anne Wakabayashi (El Cajon, Calif./Academy of Our Lady of Peace) in 21st place in 22:04.
As a team, the women dropped both ends of the tri-meet, falling 25-31 to Gettysburg and 21-38 to Messiah.
Both Juniata cross country teams will run at the Catholic Preview meet next Saturday, Oct. 3, in Washington, D.C.
-30-
