Men's and Women's Cross Country Continues to Progress

Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny women's and men's cross country teams placed two top ten finishers in the races held at Penn State Wilkes-Barre Saturday morning.

The women competed first on the estimated 2.5 mile, flat and fast course at Wilkes-Barre. Freshman Rachel Ramsey (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny) placed 2nd overall with a time of 16:53, just 29 seconds behind Haylee Burnhauser of Penn State Schuylkill. They both surpassed the previous course record, set by last season's #2 ranked USCAA National Championships Runner-Up, Alex Leandri of Penn State Wilkes Barre.

Sophomore Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport Area) ran a terrific race and placed 6th overall with a time of 18:50. Freshman Kasey Dansak (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport Area) continued her excellent season with a 13th place finish at 20:55.

The men wrapped up the day with their 8k. Sophomore Rob Meier (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford) ran his 4th Top 10 finish so far this season, as he went on to complete the race 8th overall with a time of 30:29. Freshman David Markotan (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) continues to make huge strides in his competition. He finished the race 16th with a career-best 8k time of 32:54. Freshman Jesse Cheek (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) ran his way to 25th place with a time of 34:42. Junior David Buckholtz (Philadelphia, Pa./Science Leadership) and sophomore Keith Smith (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport Area) finished the race in 43rd and 44th place, with times of 55:25 and 56:46 respectively.

Penn State Greater Allegheny looks to travel to Pitt-Greensburg, Saturday October 5th for the Bobcat Invitational. The start time is set for 10:00 a.m.