THE FLATS – Georgia Tech cross country is scheduled to compete in its final meet before ACC Championships on Friday when the team travels to University Park, Pa. for the Penn State National Open. The women’s team will race first at 10:45 a.m. on a 6k course. The men’s team will follow up at 11:30 a.m. on a 5.2-mile course.
Competing in the race alongside Tech is Duquesne, Cornell, Ohio, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Siena, Syracuse, Youngstown State, Buffalo (men only), James Madison (women only), Lehigh (women only), Maryland (women only), Michigan (women only), Northwestern (women only) and Penn (women only). The women’s side features one ranked team (Michigan, No. 8) and three teams, including Tech, that received votes.
The women’s team is looking to solidify the fifth scorer for the team. At the Kennesaw State Opener, Katy Earwood finished fifth with Sophie Boice and Mary Brady, who ran unattached, crossing sixth and seventh. McKenna Trapheagan was the eighth Yellow Jacket to finish. At the Roy Griak Invitational, Earwood finished fifth once again followed closely by Trapheagan and Abby Kettle. Sorting out who of this talented, deep group of runners will be the fifth scorer will be paramount going into ACC Championships.
The men’s team is looking to bounce back after a disappointing result at the Roy Griak Invitational. Tactics will be at the front of the mind for the team to make sure they get into a good rhythm in the first mile to set them up for the rest of the race.
The Penn State National Open is familiar terrain for the White and Gold who have competed as a team in the race in 2018 and 2019. Senior leadership will be key in the race as Nicole Fegans, Liz Galarza and Claire Moritz on the women’s side and James Cragin and Henrik Anderson on the men’s side have all raced in the Penn State National Open before.
Fegans finished third in the 2019 meet. Her time that year was 11 seconds off the top ten times for the meet all-time. Galarza finished 11th in 2019 and Moritz finished 28th. Cragin and Anderson have scored in each meet so far this year.
After this meet, Tech competes at the ACC Championships in South Bend, Ind. on Oct. 29.
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