Men's Cross Country Readies for Patriot League Championships

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's cross country team lost three All-Patriot League runners from a team that finished second in the conference last year, but still has high hopes of finishing near the top of the standings this year when it travels to Hamilton, New York on Saturday for the Patriot League Championships.

“Navy is the heavy favorite to win,” said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner. “There seems to be five darkhorses, which includes Boston, Lehigh, Army West Point, American and us. Any one of those teams could be second. The team that can break up Navy the most will have the advantage. It's a true cross country course that may affect some of the frontrunners, which could make this an exciting meet.”

Bucknell finished as the runner-up to Navy last year, thanks to two runners that earned First Team All-Patriot League honors and another that picked up Second Team recognition. All three have now graduated. Will Bordash is the team's top returning runner after being named the Patriot League Rookie of the Meet with a 26^th-place finish.

Luke Giugliano was 39^th a year ago, while Andrew Kirna was 45^th, Peter Murray was 46^th and John Kirna took 47^th. Zachary Williams looks to jump up in the results after a solid 55^th-place showing as a rookie.

Bucknell has won six Patriot League titles since the league formed in 1990. It won the first three championships and then won three in a row again from 1997-99. The Bison's runner-up finish last year was their best since taking second in 2001.

Navy has won back-to-back league titles and six of the past seven. Midshipmen senior Stephen Schroeder is the defending individual champion.