Bucknell Women’s Cross Country traveled to Tyrone, Pa. to compete in the Father Bede Invitational this past weekend, hosted by Saint Francis University. They placed second out of six teams, scoring 48 points.

The women raced the 4k (2.5 miles), shorter than the 6k (3.75 miles) that they will be racing later in the season. The Orange and Blue came into the season ranked #10 in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Rankings and are hoping to improve off their fourth place finish at the Patriot League Championships last fall. The Bison faced off against regional rivals Duquesne and Saint Francis who they will see again come the Regional Championships in November.

In her first-ever collegiate race, Shaelan McNally ’28 led the charge for the Bison finishing first overall in a course record time of 14:11.70.

“The race went well. I felt comfortable although I’m not as good at running on grass. There was a spot in the race with a 90-degree turn and I saw my roommate [and] teammate Kerry O’Day [’28], we gave each other a thumbs up during the second half of the race and kept going! It was special seeing the upperclassmen cheer us on our first race as we all look up to them,” McNally said.

Teammates O’Day, Kate Moncavage ’28, Kaitlyn Segreti ’25 and Bradley Weldon ’27 rounded out the top five for Bucknell, finishing fourth, 12th, 15th and 16th overall.

The Bison continue their season today as they travel to Easton, Pennsylvania for the Lafayette Invitational.