Cross Country Earns Three of the Patriot League's Four Weekly Awards

LEWISBURG, Pa. – After turning in solid team performances at two different meets this past weekend, three members of the Bucknell cross country team were honored with Patriot League weekly awards. Junior Michael McGowan (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) was selected as the M-F Athletic Male Runner of the Week, while freshmen Luke Giugliano (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) and Catherine Scott (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) were chosen as the M-F Athletic Male and Female Rookies of the Week.

McGowan helped the men's cross country team to a ninth-place finish at Boston College's Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown on Friday, competing against some of the strongest collegiate teams in the country, including No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 12 Oregon and No. 25 Providence. The junior finished 38^th out of 140 competitors in the 8k race, crossing the line in a time of 26:16. McGowan, who is earning this award for the first time in his career, has been Bucknell's top finisher in all three meets this season.

Giugliano captured second place in the 8k race at the Husky Invitational, held at Bloomsburg University on Saturday, helping the Bison win the team competition and sweep the top three places in the event. The freshman finished in a time of 27:48.5, just three seconds out of first place.

Scott competed at Boston College's Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown on Friday, helping the women's team to a tenth-place finish against some of the strongest competition in the country. Racing against teams such as No. 1 Providence, No. 3 Oregon, No. 9 Cornell and No. 24 Boston College, Scott finished 80^th out of 146 competitors with a time of 18:55. She was the third Bison and the top Bucknell freshman to cross the line in the 5k event.

Both cross country teams will race again on Saturday, Oct. 5 when Bucknell travels to Bethlehem, Pa. for Lehigh's Paul Short Invitational.