GCC wins 25th cross country championship
GIBSONIA — The Grove City College women's cross country team cruised to its 25th consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference championship on Saturday at Chatham University's Eden Hall Campus.
The Wolverines finished with four runners ranked in the top 10 and had seven earn all-PAC honors.
Emily Rabenold took the individual title and PAC Women's Cross Country MVP honors with a time of 21:45, while GCC coach Sean Severson was named the conference's coach of the year for the ninth time during his 10 years at the helm.
Stevie Huston (fourth, 22:59), Laurel Skorup (seventh, 23:15) and Lydia Hogan (ninth, 23:27) were the Wolverines' other top 10 representatives.
GCC finished the 6-kilometer event with 33 team points. Waynesburg University was second with 75.
Grove City College claimed second-place honors in the PAC.The Wolverines finished with 59 points, but Saint Vincent College tallied 30 points for its fourth straight conference crown.GCC senior Arleigh McRae placed second individually, completing the 8-kilometer course in a time of 25:39, while Dan Christiansen also earned first-team all-PAC with a fifth-place finish at 26:30.Grove City High graduate Brandon Wise took 27th place for the Wolverines at 27:51.Both teams will compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship on Nov. 16 at Lehigh University.
Grove City College was defeated 39-7 at Geneva on Saturday in a PAC clash at Reeves Stadium.Geneva (5-3, 4-2) jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first half before GCC quarterback Brian Pell scored on a 1-yard run with 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter.Anthony Ritchie caught a career-high 10 passes for 135 yards for the Wolverines (3-5, 1-5).Grove City will host Saint Vincent on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for Senior Day at Robert E. Thorn Field.
Slippery Rock University, ranked 14th in the nation, played to a 1-1 draw at No. 22 Shippensburg University in a PSAC West match on Saturday.The Rock (13-2-2, 12-2-2) finishes the regular season ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region and will enter the PSAC playoffs as the No. 2 seed.SRU will host Gannon University in the PSAC quarterfinals on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.Ali Brosky accounted for Slippery Rock's goal on Saturday off an assist from Leslie Henny. Annabelle Hegeman recorded two saves in net.Thomas More 2, Grove City College 1 — Mars graduate Jordyn White scored the Wolverines' lone goal in the loss for GCC (10-8-1, 7-2).Freeport graduate Sam Weber and Slippery Rock High graduate Sarah Cessar were among nine seniors honored before the match.The Wolverines will be the No. 2 seed in the PAC tournament. GCC hosts No. 3 Westminster in the semifinals on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Slippery Rock University locked up a home playoff game after a 1-1 tie at Shippensburg on Saturday.The Rock (13-2-2, 7-3-1) earned the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Shippensburg (9-6-2, 6-4-1) in a rematch on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the PSAC quarterfinals.Ryan Lutke provided the SRU goal off an assist from Declan Brennan in the 77th minute to tie the match.Grove City 1, Thomas More 1 — Dale Reese scored the game-tying goal in the 82nd minute during the draw.Thomas More (14-2-1, 7-0-1) will be the top seed in the PAC tournament. The Wolverines (8-5-5, 4-1-3) are the No. 3 seed and will travel to No. 2 Washington & Jefferson College on Wednesday for the PAC semifinals.
Seneca Valley graduate Sarah Beals recorded 16 kills and led Slippery Rock University to a 3-1 win at Mercyhurst.The Rock (10-20, 5-12) won the tightly contested match by scores of 29-27, 29-27, 24-26 and 25-23.The win snapped a nine-game skid for SRU.Caroline Houston tallied 12 kills, Leah Jones had nine kills and Michelle Hren chipped in seven kills for The Rock.Saint Vincent 3, Grove City 2 — The Wolverines finished the regular season at 15-14 overall and 8-10 in PAC play.The Wolverines are the No. 6 seed in the PAC tournament and will travel to No. 3 Thomas More on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a first-round match.
West Chester spoiled Slippery Rock University's Senior Day with three goals in just over a minute to pull out a 3-2 victory.Kelsey Gustafson scored to give The Rock at 1-0 edge, before the No. 5 Golden Rams erupted for three quick goals midway through the second half.Michelle Couch cut the deficit to 3-2, but SRU couldn't force overtime.The Rock finishes the season at 6-12 overall and 2-8 in PSAC play.
