Shippensburg University´s cross-country teams competed in the 13th Annual Galen Piper Cross Country Challenge at home on Friday with the men racing a 6K and the women racing a 4K.
The men´s team won the challenge with 24 points and had eight of its runners finish in the Top 14.
Aiden Gonder led the scoring runners with a third-place finish in 19:16.8. Hayden Hunt, Ryan Wolfe, Ian Sherlock and Garrett Quinan finished fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, all within nine seconds of Gonder. Kevin Wagner, Nathan Harding and Brennan Wellock rounded out the top 14 with places 11, 12 and 14.
The women´s team placed fourth with 102 points among the 13 competing teams and placed their best four runners among the Top 25 finishers.
Sophomore Livi Rieck placed ninth in 15:25 and led the women with her performance. Senior Belle Weikert finished 12th in 15:27 and redshirt sophomore Kelsey Hull earned a 22nd-place finish in 15:47. Sophomore Morgan Hess served as the team’s No.4 runner, finishing 24th, and junior Victoria Mattioli rounded out the scoring performances with a 44th–place finish, running 87 seconds faster than her previous best on the home course.
The Shippensburg Alumni team, which was led by alumna Neely Spence Gracey, won the women’s team title. Spence Gracey won the individual race with a course record of 13:45 and was 64 seconds faster than the rest of the field.
The Raiders will return to action in Kutztown to compete at the Division II Challenge Sept. 15 where the men will race in an 8K and the women will compete in a 6K.
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