Fayette third ever to sweep PSUAC XC championships
The Penn State Fayette Cross Country team made program history Saturday as for the first time, both the men's and women's teams both won their respective Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) Invitational meets.
For the men's team, it was their fifth straight PSUAC crown in the 8K while the women's team won their first-ever conference championship in a 6K, with the event taking place at Norlo Park, the home course of Penn State Mont Alto.
"It has been a goal from the get-go, and it took us some time, but we are pretty excited about that fact," said head coach Joe Carei about sweeping the titles and being the third program in PSUAC history to achieve the feat. "It was a great day, and everything came together."
Carei spoke about the men's team, which continued its dominance. The men had a team score of 22, blowing away the seven-team field as it had five of the top nine times and scores. Second place Penn State Mont Alto had 52 points.
"Mitch (Minda) ran wire-to-wire for the win," Carei said. "The win today gave everyone confidence moving forward. Everyone produced and only one team had runners in front of our top five."
Minda (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward HS) took first with a time of 28:26 while Joe O'Connell (West Mifflin, PA/West Mifflin HS) was third in a time of 29:31. Drew Erdman (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem HS) was fourth in a time of 30:18, Ethan Mates (Mt. Pleasant, PA/Mt. Pleasant HS) finished seventh with a time of 31:06, PJ Savini (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands) was 11th in a time of 32:44, Logan Miller (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands HS) finished 12th in a time of 32:47 and Jacob Neal (Greater Latrobe, PA/Greater Latrobe HS) was 17th with a time of 34:13.
For the women's team, they swept the top three spots and all five runners placed in the top seven.
"We were trying to keep a tight pack because we need that for the kids and the national meet," Carei said. "They kept it pretty good. The top three kept it within nine seconds and all three set personal records."
Nicole Walker (West Mifflin, PA/West Mifflin HS) took first place with a time of 25:26, Kelsey Wilkins (Monaca, PA/Central Valley HS) was second in 25:32 and Josie Pindro (Hopwood, PA/Geibel Catholic) was third in 25:33. Chloe Kalp (Melcroft, PA/Connellsville HS) was fifth in a time of 26:48 and Haley Miller (Masontown, PA/Albert Gallatin HS) was seventh in a time of 29:43.
Both teams will now prepare for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championships in Virginia Beach, VA, which take place on November 12 with the men's team looking to pick a second consecutive national crown. The women's 6K race begins at 10:00 a.m. while the men's 8K race begins at 11:00 a.m.
For more on the USCAA Cross-Country championships, go to https://uscaafallchampionships.com/landing/index.
For more on the Cross-Country team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/xc/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics.