West Chester’s cross country team participated in the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Slippery Rock University at Cooper’s Lake Campground on Saturday.
In a field of 114 runners, the men placed ninth overall with 246 points. This was two places higher than last year and it is the h
ighest finish since 2001, according to coach Andrew Huber.
Curran Kneebone’s time of 27:03.7 placed him No. 43 overall; Sean Sebeck had a time of 27:08.4 with a 45th-place finish; Jack Barnett placed 55th with a time of 27:22.2. It was probably the best performance by Jack Barnett in his college career.
Zack Musselman finished in 27:25.9 placing him 58th, and freshman Jake Siegel ran a time of 27:35 while Ed Brittingham had a time of 27:39.5. These times were the six fastest times on this course in the past nine years, and Siegel’s time was especially impressive, since it’s his first year with the team.
The women’s team found a field of 138 runners at the championships and placed eighth overall with 236 points. This is one place higher than last year, which is the highest finish for the women since 2002.
Amanda Eisman had a fifth-place finish, the best WCU individual finish (male or female) since at least 1955, according to Huber.
“Eisman had a great race and convincingly beat a few women who had beaten her earlier in the year. Manning-Smith is coming into form at just the right time after missing all last season with an injury, which really helped out our team,” Huber said.
The women’s team had the following times: Eisman with 22:31.9, the No. 1 time on this course in past nine years; Leigh Manning-Smith with 24:09.2; Brittany Boyer with 24:18.7, and Mara Kelly with 25:04.6.
Trish Evans ran 25:28.4, Amber Key 25:56.9 and Megan Berberich 25:59.6.
The Golden Rams will have their next meet at the NCAA Regionals at Lock Haven on Nov. 3.
Kyle Banta is a third-year student majoring in English. He can be reached at KB683859@wcupa.edu.