This past Sunday, October 29, 2017, both Muhlenberg’s men and women’s cross country teams competed in their Centennial conference tournaments. The men’s team placed in fourth, only behind three of the top five teams in their region, while the women’s team finished in seventh place.
With the Centennial Conference being stronger than it has been in years, The Muhlenberg men’s cross country squad was even more enthusiastic than usual following their impressive performance. They were able to closely compete with national ranked DIII cross country teams, including third ranked, Centennial Conference rival, Haverford. Muhlenberg runners, Jason Richwall, Corey Mullins, and Anthony Calantoni all finished in the top twenty overall. When asked, Mullins described this trio, “…as the strongest top three on their team that they have had in years.” Additionally,this race concluded the running careers for seniors, Henry McCarthy and Aaron Zucker. Richwall described these two seniors as, “great teammates, leaders, and friends that will be deeply missed next year.”
With this race in the books, the men’s cross country squad is now looking forward to both the regional competition, and the national thereafter. The regional competition will be held in two weeks at Dickinson, where Muhlenberg will be looking to improve upon the eighth place finish they had last year. The end game for the team though is to send as many people to nationals as possible. With Mullins expected to secure a spot, and both Richwall and Calatoni right on the cusp of solidifying a national’s appearance, the season is long from over for the Muhlenberg men’s cross country team. With continued hard work and dedication, there is no reason to believe that this team will achieve peak performance at some point in the near future.
The Muhlenberg women’s cross country team finished in seventh on Sunday, despite the absence of their star runner, Jamie Pacilio. Even without their top runner, the team showed strength and determination on this cold, rainy day at Gettysburg. Every single individual on the team displayed fortitude and grit, which has consistently improved due to the spectacular leadership of team captains: Mallory Snyder, Hayley Steckler, and Jamie Pacilio. This team knows that they are only scratching the surface of their potential, putting in top notch effort in each and every workout.
With this race in the books, the team is officially looking forward to the regional tournament taking place at Dickinson on Saturday, November 11th. Both sophomore runner, Santina Zouras, and senior runner, Mallory Synder are hoping to flip the scripts at this upcoming race. Santina is confident that she will perform much better at regionals, since she has just recently come back from an injury. Additionally, with the upcoming regional and national races, Snyder will bring her best performance as she knows it will be her last. Her goal is to end her stellar college running career at the top.
With the season coming to a close, it is both team’s aspirations to finish the season on as high a note as possible. By enduring struggles and building toughness, both of these teams should be prepared for the adversity that they will face in the following competitions. Both teams know what is at stake at the regionals, with finalists having the chance to reach the national stage. With the same hunger, dedication, and exceptional effort that has been given all season long, there is no reason to believe that both the Muhlenberg men’s and women’s team won’t reach peak performance and send forward several runners to nationals. Furthermore, I am confident that both teams will best their Centennial Conference tournament results, and hopefully set new personal records in the races ahead.
