On a cool, brisk, sunny Saturday morning at Union Canal Tunnel Park in Lebanon County, the Elizabethtown College cross country team lined up for the Landmark Conference Championship, hosted by the Blue Jays.
The Etown women’s cross-country team ran first after the gun was fired, with the Blue Jays leading the charge out of the gate for the 6K race. Fifth-year Kelty Oaster led the charge, running a 22:03 and finishing 3rd overall in the race. Sophomore Keely Fitzgerald was the second runner crossing the line for Etown, finishing with a time of 23:27, granting her 13th overall in the field. Junior Gwen Young finished shortly behind Fitzgerald, finishing 16th overall with a time of 23:35. Senior Maureen Bozak finished 17th after Young with a 23:42, and junior Isabell Anderson rounded out the points runners for Etown at 24 minutes and 32 seconds, finishing 32nd in the field.
Other finishers for Etown included first-year Addison Kleinle with a 24:41 finishing time and a 34th-place finish. Senior Amanda Kauffman finished 44th overall with a time of 25:05 and sophomore Maeve Keefe finished with a 25:27, placing 50th. Elizabethtown finished 4th overall in the event out of 10 teams, with a score of 80. Oaster earned herself her fourth consecutive first-team All-Landmark Conference award. Fitzgerald earned herself a second-team All-Landmark Conference award and Young and Bosak earned themselves an honorable mention for the All-Landmark Conference awards.
The gun sounded once more with the men’s 8K race as the Etown men’s cross-country team looked to prove themselves with a first-place finish after being the runner-up a season prior. Sophomore Will Inglis finished first for the Blue Jays with a 25:42 finish time, placing him 9th amongst the field. Senior Daniel Myers finished shortly behind Inglis with a time of 25:47 and an 11th-place finish. Sophomore Derek Kendig and senior Nolan Pettit finished with each other at the line, as Kendig finished with a 25:53 time, placing 13th and Pettit finished with a 25:54 time, placing 15th. Junior Benjamin Ortiz rounded out the field of the top runners for Etown, placing 21st with a time of 26:25.
Other notable runners for Etown over the weekend included first-year Ethan Wence, who finished with a 26:32, placing 23rd overall. Junior Martin Ratchford finished 34th with a time of 26:51, and senior Carson Wiley finished 53rd with a time of 27:41. After Moravian College finished first through fifth, completing a perfect finish for the College, Etown finished second with a score of 67.
Etown’s next event will be on Saturday, Nov. 16, where they will compete in the Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional at Lock Haven University.
