Every year, Elizabethtown College cross country team alumni are given an opportunity to compete against the current cross country team. A hilly 4.5 kilometer race determines whether the current team can handle the old guard. 

The 12-year tradition has been a favorite for current team members as well as many alumni. The men’s team looks to bounce back from a hard 17-38 loss from last year, following a clean sweep of the top three spots from the alumni. The Lady Jays are looking to maintain their current win streak over the alumni after winning last year’s competition 19-43, having five of their runners finish in the top six.  

The course, which every team member and alumni agrees is one of the more challenging courses they have ever run, comprises three similar loops around the solar panel array. The first two loops include the upper portion and a loop around, which is a significantly hillier and more challenging area, whereas the third loop only includes the lower portion around the solar panel array, which is relatively flatter.  

The men’s race began at 10:45 a.m., with alumnus Matt Fick and current team members juniors Derek Kendig and Will Inglis leading the charge up the first challenging hill. The pack remained close and competitive throughout the race, with many of the competitors going back and forth until the final loop, where Fick took a sizable gap and held it for the win with a time of 13:50. Kendig, Inglis and teammate senior Marty Ratchford managed to take places 2-4, with first-years Michael Beach and Jedd King taking seventh place and tenth place to secure a narrow 26-29 victory over the alumni. The narrow victory keeps the strong rivalry between the alumni and current team alive, with both teams having split evenly over the last four years.  

The women’s race began at 11:30, with current Blue Jays sophomore Addison Kleinle, senior Gwen Young and junior Keely Fitzgerald immediately charged ahead of the competition. Notable alumna Kelty Oaster, a two-time national champion for the Blue Jays, paid a surprise visit and gave chase to the lead pack. 

Going into the final loop, Kleinle was looking to increase her lead, while the runners behind were looking to close the gap. Young and Fitzgerald made excellent efforts, but Kleinle held on and took the alumni meet title with a time of 17:22, with Young and Fitzgerald taking second and third place respectively. Oaster was the top finisher for the alumni, taking fourth place. Team members senior Isabell Anderson and first-year Julia Benincase took fifth and sixth place to round out the Blue Jays’ top five and secured a significant 17-44 victory.  

Both the men’s and women’s teams will be competing at the Dickinson Long/Short Invitational in two weeks on Saturday, Sept. 27.