GREENVILLE, Pa. (Oct. 28) – Fueled by five runners who finished in the top 17, the Saint Vincent College men's cross country team won its ninth Presidents' Athletic Conference championship in program history.
The Bearcats amassed 56 points, outdistancing second-place Washington & Jefferson College by a 15-point margin.
Each of SVC's top five runners earned All-PAC accolades, while head coach
Kevin Wanichko was voted the PAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Senior
Tim Patterson led the way for the Bearcats, continuing his stellar season by placing third overall in the 120-runner field with a time of 26:10 on the 8-kilometer Thiel College course. With his third-place finish, Patterson earns First Team All-PAC accolades.
Patterson was joined on the All-PAC first team by junior teammate
Ethan Wymer, who placed seventh overall in a time of 26:30.
Sophomore
Brady Sundin, the reigning PAC Newcomer of the Year, was the Bearcats' third man, covering the course in 26:49 to place 13th and earn Second Team All-PAC laurels.
Rounding out the Bearcat scoring five, junior
Aiden Jackson placed 16th with a time of 27:00, just ahead of classmate
John Syms, who took 17th in 27:03. Both Jackson and Syms were named Honorable Mention All-PAC.
Joey Jafarace narrowly missed a top-20 finish, turning in a time of 27:26 to place 22nd, while
Jordan Raynor (40th – 28:08),
Jeffrey Raynor (44th – 28:19),
John Hurley (45th – 28:20),
Jacob Rzempoluch (46th – 28:23) and
Braden Rankin (48th – 28:29) all finished in the top half of the field with top-50 performances.
The PAC title is Saint Vincent's first since the 2019 campaign, while the Bearcats previously won seven straight conference crowns between 2010-16.
Kevin Arseneaux of Geneva College won the individual championship, covering the course in 25:52, with W&J's Dom Flitcraft placing second in 26:05.
In the team standings, after first-place SVC and runner-up W&J, Allegheny placed third with 71 points, with Grove City taking fourth (99) and Geneva fifth (102).
Waynesburg (155), Franciscan (165), Thiel (241), Westminster (268) and Chatham (286) rounded out the 10-team field.
The Bearcats will now continue postseason competition, returning to action at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Lock Haven University.
