Women’s cross country ready for PSAC Championship

Saturday, November 3

Edinboro, PA

11:00 AM

Millersville University

PSAC Championships

Women’s cross country ready for PSAC Championship

10/31/2018 11:08:00 AM | Women's Cross Country

By: Michael Rosen, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Edinboro, Pa. – The Millersville University women's cross country team is set to compete in the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship on Saturday, Nov. 3 at host Edinboro. The 6k race will begin at 11 a.m.

The Marauders placed 17^th out of 18 teams at last season's PSAC Championship and they have spent their season preparing for a major improvement in this year's installment.

"Last season was our worst finish ever," head coach Andy Young said. "They've been on a mission to prove the preseason rankings, which had us second to last, wrong. They set the bar high at the beginning of the season and said they wanted to be a top eight finisher at this meet. We compete in a really good conference, but we've been getting closer to a lot of teams that have historically been in the top 10 despite us not being at full strength throughout this season."

Millersville's last meet was back on Oct. 19 when it finished third out of eight teams at the LVC Last Chance Run Fast meet. Junior Emily Bland was the team's top finisher, placing 12^th overall with a time of 24:48.50. She was awarded PSAC Runner of the Week honors for her performance, the first time she has received the accolade in her career.

Bland's 24:36.52 run at the Dickinson Long Short on Sept. 22 is the best mark a Millersville harrier has notched in a 6k this season. She did not compete in last season's PSAC Championship.

Sophomore Yoangelys Rijo-Cedeno was the team's top finisher for two meets, the Blue & Gold Invitational on Oct. 6 and the Gettysburg Invitational on Oct. 13, as she finished 13^th with a time of 25:27.18 and 54^th with a time of 24:51.10, respectively. Rijo-Cedeno finished 110^th overall with a time of 28:47.00 in last season's PSAC Championship.

Freshman Jillian Miller was the top finisher in the team's first meet of the season, the Alumni Run on Sept. 1. She placed 16^th overall and clocked in with a time of 18:51.00, earning PSAC Athlete of the Week for her performance. Miller has not raced since Sept. 22, but she will be competing on Saturday.

"Jillian Miller is a talented runner and we're excited to have her back," Young said. "She has missed some time, but based on the type of competitor she is and the level of talent she has I think she will definitely help us out."

This will be the first PSAC Championship meet for three other freshmen and one transfer and Young believes the experience will be very beneficial for them.

"This will be a good test for our freshmen to see how they stand up to higher pressure races," he said. "I like what they've done this season and when I've put pressure on them they've responded pretty well. They're a pretty level-headed group and they're really competitive. Regardless of who they are competing against they give it their all."

The Marauders have not won a PSAC Championship in their program history. Millersville has two individual champions from 1990 and 1995 when Kellie Boozer (19:25) and Jo Rupp (18:46) won the titles, respectively.

Host Edinboro won last season's PSAC Championship and are the favorites to win it this season. The Fighting Scots have won 18 conference titles, the most of any PSAC team, and boast 11 individual champions. Last season's individual champion, Julie Friend of California (Pa.), will not be returning for this season's installment.