Saturday, Nov. 10, the Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships that took place at DeSales University.

The men’s team took fifth place out of 52 teams with a score of 224 points. Junior Samuel Gerstenbacher was the top finisher for the Blue Jays, finishing in seventh place with a time of 26:11. According to Blue Jay Athletics, this is the best finish since 2015 graduate Zach Trama. Senior Tyler Alanksy finished in 26:38 placing 23rd.

Gerstenbacher and Alanksy achieved all-region honors for the second year in a row. Junior Liam Coverdale ran the 3,000 meter in 27:05, but since only the top 35 can qualify for all-honors, Coverdale just missed the cut-off by placing 36th. Junior Christopher Myers took 75th, and first-year Colm Smith placed 83rd. Carnegie Mellon University took the Championship win with a total of 76 points.

The women’s team earned eighth place with a total of 277 points.

Senior Colleen Kernan and sophomore Olivia Gerstenbacher both achieved all-region honors. Kernan earned 17th place at a time of 23:31, while Gerstenbacher came shortly behind in 24th place.

This ends the season for the cross country teams, although you can watch some of the top Championship winners compete in the NCAA DIII Championships in Winneconne, Wisconsin Saturday, Nov. 17.