Bucknell University Athletics
Cross Country Set for Two Competitive Outings This Weekend
9/26/2013 6:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams will send groups of runners to two different meets this weekend, with part of the team competing at the prestigious Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown – BC XC Invite on Friday and the rest of the squad running in the competitive Husky Invitational at Bloomsburg University on Saturday. The Coast-to-Coast race will be held at Franklin Park in Boston, with the women's 5K beginning at 3:30 p.m. and the men's 8K kicking off at 4:15 p.m. Video of the races and post-race interviews will be available on Flotrack. The Husky race will traverse Bloomsburg's Upper Campus, with the women's 6k taking place at 12:15 p.m. and the men's 8K starting at 12:45 p.m.
The Coast-to-Coast race in Boston will allow the Bison to compete against many of the nation's top collegiate cross country teams, including Boston College (women only), Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Northeastern, Providence, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Hartford, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Yale. On the men's side, several squads were ranked in the top 25 in the Sept. 23 USTFCCCA NCAA Division I National Cross Country Coaches' Poll, including Wisconsin (8), Syracuse (9), Oregon (12) and Providence (25). On the women's side, Providence (1), Oregon (3), Cornell (9) and Boston College (24) were all ranked in the same poll.
“This will be a very competitive meet with a few of the top teams being nationally ranked,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “Our athletes are very excited to see how they stack up. We have not had a cross country meet in New England since I have been here, and we traditionally recruit a lot in the area so it gives many of our athletes a chance to race near home and showcase our program.”
Bucknell will be joined by the host school and Mansfield in Saturday's race at Bloomsburg, and both schools are expected to provide solid competition for the Bison.
The Bison have produced two strong outings so far this season, most recently competing at Penn State's Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 13. The men won the competition, led by Michael McGowan's second place finish, while the women claimed second, with top ten finishes by Kylie Pearse and Catherine Scott.
After this weekend's races, the cross country teams will head to Bethlehem, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 5 to compete in Lehigh's Paul Short Invitational.
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Players Mentioned
