PAC Conference Championships Preview

This preview is not an official Grove City release. This is a private and unofficial blog.

This Saturday, the Presidents Athletic Conference championship meet will be held at St. Vincent's College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It should be noted that St. Vincent's and Geneva are not eligible for the team race (although as last year, the teams will run but not count in the team scoring) this year as they transition from scholarship programs to NCAA division III. The preview will thus not include either the teams or individuals from those schools. Joe Onderko, Executive Director of the Presidents Athletic Conference, has explained on the PAC website (click here) that St. Vincent's and Geneva runners will compete for PAC Coaches Honors by placing in the top 14.
Team Races:
The Womens' team race last year was the closest in recent memory as Grove City, with 32 points, held off Waynesburg with 35. Waynesburg returns their entire top-5 team from last year and will be looking to stop Grove City's 18 years of consecutive wins. While Grove City will only bring three of their top ten finishers from a year ago to the starting line, the young Wolverine squad (four freshmen have played significant roles this year) has had a remarkable season and is ranked fourth in the NCAA Mideast regional poll, and must be considered the favorite once again.
In the Mens' race, the top three from a year ago were Grove City (19)(winning its 16th consecutive title), Waynesburg (58) and Washington & Jefferson (69). Grove City is currently ranked ninth in the NCAA Mideast region, and comes in as the clear race favorite. W&J would appear to have the edge for second based on year-to-date results.
Individual Races:
In the Womens' race, the heavy favorite is defending champion Kristen Carter of Grove City, who has been named PAC Runner of the Week each week she has competed this year. In addition, she has been named the ECAC cross country Athlete of the Week twice this season. She appears to be running even better than Elisa Pedersen did in her All-American year of 2005. Other runners contending for All-Conference honors should include returning first team all-PAC runners from last year from Waynesburg, Michelle Probst Cross, Megan Grover, Janet Carson and Katie Weko, and second team all-PAC Haley Hinds; as well as Erin Long of Washington & Jefferson (3rd overall last year); Elizabeth Beardsley of Westminster; and Grove City harriers Julia Seward, Jessica Vernon, Emily Pierce, Brigitte Fryan, Amanda Hewitt, Rachael Smith, Laura Koller, Sarah Sharp and Rachel Nelson.
In the Mens' race, both the 2005 MVP, Matt Rudzki of Washington & Jefferson, and the 2006 MVP, Dan Spaulding of Grove City return. In addition, other runners contending for the top spot should be Garrett Cichowitz of Grove City, twice PAC Runner of the Week this season, Bobby Regan of W&J, and Zach Foster of Bethany. Grove City has several other runners who will be competing for all-Conference honors, including Joey Cortez, Gordon Grob, Frankie Hourigan, Brett Kelly, Cordell Oberholtzer and Tim Su