A busy Oct. 14-15 for the men’s and women’s cross country teams proved to be an overall success, as both teams demonstrated strong finishes at the Penn State National and the Leopard Invitational.

The women’s cross country team finished in ninth place out of 19 teams Oct. 14 at the Penn State National. The Bison finished with a score of 223, falling just behind William & Mary, who recorded a score of 221.

Christine Bendzinski ’18 finished in 16th place out of 224 runners, completing the race in 20:48. Kate Scott ’17 finished close behind Bendzinski in 20th place, and Sarah Chandler ’17 finished in 37th place with a time of 21:11. Colleen Buckley ’19, Elizabeth Sheprow ’17, Anna Chiodo-Ortiz ’19, and Lauren Gronbeck ’20 all finished in the top 100.

The following day, the Bison were at Lafayette to compete in the Leopard Invitational. They finished in second place with a score of 43 to outperform Lafayette, St. Joseph’s, and Seton Hall while coming up short to Temple.

Margaret Thomson ’19 placed third out of 52 runners, while Tabitha Wismer ’19 placed sixth. Lindsay Schafer ’18 finished in ninth, Kathleen Fitzgerald ’17 finished in 11th, Madison Narr ’19 finished in 14th, Mikayla Cochrane ’20 finished in 22nd, and Morgan Price ’19 finished in 26th.

The men’s cross country team also had an exciting weekend. With the help of Luke Giugliano ’17, who placed 30th out of 114, the Orange and Blue finished in 12th place at the Penn State Nationals. Giugliano crossed the finish line first for the Bison with a time of 25:36. Drew Dorflinger ’20 finished in 69th, Will Bordash ’18 in 70th, Ross Pirnie ’17 in 72, and Jacob Stupak ’20 finished in 78th.

Sixteen teams competed at Penn State Oct. 14, several of which are nationally and regionally ranked. The Bison finished with a final score of 319 beating Buffalo, Cornell, Kent State, and Akron.

The men’s team rounded out the weekend with participation in the Leopard Invitational, the last regular meet of the season. The men gathered a score of 134, with standout performance from seventh-place finisher Kyle Adams ’18  in the 8k. Trailing behind Adams was Jordan Jackson ’17 at 27th, Brendan McGill ’20 at 39th, and Landin Delaney ’19 in 47th.

Both the men and women’s cross country teams will hit the road to compete at the Patriot League Championship on Oct. 29, hosted by Lafayette.