EDINBORO, Pa. - Millersville head coach Andy Young believes this is the deepest cross country team he has had in years, and that is especially important as the team heads into Saturday's PSAC Championship not nearly 100% healthy. But Young's program is coming off back-to-back sixth-place finishes and is still aiming for a finish that will net it a third consecutive top-eight performance since 2008-2010. 

Young's team is led by junior Bri Pollock, who finished 20th and earned All-PSAC honors at the 2024 PSAC Championship. However, three of the team's expected top five runners--Olivia Sunderland, Maeve Boyes, and Marissa Mounce--are either out or battling through ailments. Mounce and Sunderland both placed in the top 50 and ran as part of Millersville's top five in 2024. The team's depth plays a vital role as the lineup is comprised of 12 runners, and among those 12 are runners with championship experience and a host of promising freshmen. 

The race, held at Edinboro for the first time since 2018, will be run at the Doug Watts Cross Country Course at 10 a.m. History is set to repeat itself. Young remembers the 2018 championships as a "mudfest," and rain is forecast in Edinboro for three consecutive days, including on championship Saturday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s, making for less than ideal running and course conditions. Young, however, believes the team is prepared for whatever Mother Nature brings. 

"Thankfully our girls have been committed to the weight room this year," said Young. "They're very strong, so they'll be fine in those conditions."

PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
Site: Doug Watts Cross Country Course, Edinboro, Pa.
Event Coverage: Live Results | Live Stream
Millersville's best PSAC Championships finish: 2nd (1989, 1992, 1994)
Millersville's Individual Winners: Kellie Boozer (1990), Joe Rupp (1995)

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS
Millersville's schedule has made it challenging to project a finish. The Marauders have gone head-to-head against just one PSAC team (Shippensburg) in a single meet, and that was with split squads. What is certain is that Pollock is primed to join an elite list of Marauder runners with a second consecutive All-PSAC finish. For Millersville runners with top-20 finishes, history shows consistent improvement the following season. Since 1988, Millersville has produced 10 runners with multiple top-20 and seven of those runners finished higher the following year. Most recently, Morgan Janiuk jumped from 10th in 2023 to second in 2024. Pollock has run just three races this fall, and her only 6K was on Oct. 3 at the Paul Short Run, where she finished 83rd in a field of more than 400 runners--many of whom were from the Division I ranks and professional runners. 

"(Pollock) has experience running the 6K, and at the Paul Short, she was very patient and moved up through the field throughout the race," said Young. "Even though there were professional runners in her race, she was kind of like, 'Let them do their thing; I'll run my race.' Regardless of distance, she's been really good at that this year, and I think she's got a shot at being in the top end of things on Saturday. Certainly, her training indicates that she's really fit. She was all-conference last year, but she's light-years in front of that now. It'll be interesting to see how far she can get up there. She just needs to keep doing the same thing she always does, which is stay relaxed, run her own race, and not worry about what everybody else is doing."

Running along with Pollock at the front of the pack has been freshman Kira Chebishev. Recruited as a miler for the track team, Chebishev has been a pleasant surprise. She has pushed Pollock and Sunderland in training and run well in races, finishing 16 seconds behind the Marauders' No. 1 at the Paul Short Run. 

"It's been really fun to see her develop and blossom, and she's had some great training partners all year. They've really pushed her, and she's pushed them, too, which has been great for that group of three. I'm excited to see what she can do in her first championship. Expectations aren't super high for freshmen, but sometimes that works out really well." 

It will be a big boost if Sunderland can run. After her top-50 finish at last year's championship, Sunderland trained hard in the offseason, posted a career-best 5K time at the Lebanon Valley Invitational, and was third on the team at the Paul Short Run. Amelia Alleman, a senior and veteran of postseason races, produced a 10th-place finish in the 10,000-meter run at last spring's PSAC Outdoor Championships. Emma Armstrong is a junior who has run the best times of her career this season and has two PSAC Cross Country Championship runs under her belt. Breia Mayes is set to run her fourth conference championship race and is coming off a 6K PR at the Paul Short Run. Mayes has plenty of big-race experience, placing 11th in the steeplechase at the 2025 PSAC Outdoor Championships. Junior Abby Bond will make her third consecutive PSAC Championship race appearance, finishing between 83rd and 89th in all three. Bella Ruefle earned a spot in the lineup with her finish at last week's Aubrey Shenk Invitational. Freshman Leanne Hodgson has been among the team's top-10 runners in each meet. Freshman Ashley Main ran second on the team in last weekend's meet. 

"Amelia has been really coming on strong this season, and it's been great to see her development," said Young. "Emma has been a little bit of a surprise. She's really come on very strong the last month or so, and that's been nice. We have freshmen like Leanne and Ashley who are running well right now. They'll be in the mix. Bella seems to be bouncing back after an injury this summer. She ran well this past weekend, so that's exciting to see her on the upswing. This is a deep group, and we have a lot of kids who are very close together time-wise. I think that'll help us so that maybe they are not isolated. They'll at least have their teammates, especially on a course we haven't run." 

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Slippery Rock has won back-to-back PSAC Championships after Edinboro won four in a row. The top two runners at least year's championship--Janiuk and Slippery Rock's Anna Igims--and four of the top five graduated. Slippery Rock's Ruthie Hughes is back after placing third and winning the 10K at the PSAC Outdoor Championships. Slippery Rock took first place in the Doug Watts Open run at Edinboro on Sept. 6. East Stroudsburg, however, is the top-ranked squad in the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region rankings, moving up from No. 3 the prior week. Kutztown, Edinboro and Slippery Rock follow. Millersville spent much of the season ranked eighth in that poll and enter the PSAC Championship ninth after resting runners for much of the last month. 

"It is tough to look at times and compare to different courses and know exactly where you are," said Young. "But (our runners) know they can run with those teams. I'm sure other teams are struggling with the same things we're struggling with right now, too. On paper, some teams looked amazing in the preseason, and we'll see if that shows up or if they aren't as strong as we though. Our team is competitive. It's the deepest, as far as quality of depth, that we've ever had here. It will be interesting to see."