BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Penn State women's cross country team rocked the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals with a second-place overall finish (79 points), earning automatic qualification to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Nittany Lion men posted an impressive finish of their own, coming in fourth place (122 pts) in the region.
The women's squad qualifies for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships for the first time since the 2019 season and the 24th time in the NCAA era (since 1981). This year's squad, a combination of veterans and newcomers, ran a gritty race to punch its ticket to Nationals.
WOMEN'S 6K CHAMPIONSHIP RACE
The Nittany Lion women earned four Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors, with their top four finishers placing inside the top 15 runners as the team qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2019.
Florence Caron was Penn State's top finisher, coming in 11th place with a 19:59.9. Maddie Ullom (20:04.9, 12th) and Sophia Toti (20:08.2, 13th) finished just seconds behind Caron. Kileigh Kane placed 15th with a 20:14.4, rounding out the womens team's All-Region finishers. Claire Zubey (28th, 20:48.8) completed Penn State's top-five, helping the Nittany Lions to their 79 team points, Faith DeMars, and Hayley Kitching complimented the top five, solidifying the squad's second-place finish. Six of the seven Nittany Lions hit their personal-best 6K times in the race, further solidifying their outstanding performance on the afternoon.
Penn State came in behind No. 4 Georgetown (48 pts) and in front of Penn (104 pts) in the team standings.
Penn State Women's Top Seven Results (79 pts):
Place (Points) Runner Time Notes
11 (11) Florence Caron 19:59.9 PR All-Region Honoree
12 (12) Maddie Ullom 20:04.9 PR All-Region Honoree
13 (13) Sophia Toti 20:08.2 PR All-Region Honoree
15 (15) Kileigh Kane 20:14.4 PR All-Region Honoree
28 (28) Claire Zubey 20:48.8 PR
43 Faith DeMars 21:02.3
61 Hayley Kitching 21:19.1 PR
MEN'S 10K CHAMPIONSHIP RACE
A pair of All-Region honors and a strong push to the finish propelled the Penn State men to a fourth-place final standing in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
The men's squad was led by Evan Dorenkamp as he finished in 16th place with a time of 29:59.0. Dorenkamp's placement earned him his second cross country All-Region honor. True freshman Brian DiCola continued his solid freshman season as he finished 19th (30:02.3), earning his first-career All-Region recognition in his first collegiate 10K. Ryan Watson (30:19.7) and Hayden Healey (30:25.8) followed behind in 26th and 28th place. Behailu Bekele-Arcuri, Christopher DeSousa, and Brendan Flynn rounded off the men's top seven finishers and helped the Nittany Lions to secure fourth place in the Mid-Atlantic Region with 122 points. Whether it was their first collegiate 10K or their last, all seven of Penn State's runners set benchmarks for the distance in a stellar team outing.
No. 16 Princeton finished first with 41 points and No. 11 Villanova came in second with 73 points. Georgetown finished up third (77 points) followed by the Nittany Lions in fourth.
Penn State Men's Top Seven Results (122 pts):
Place (Points) Runner Time Notes
16 (16) Evan Dorenkamp 29:59.0 PR All-Region Honoree
19 (19) Brian DiCola 30:02.3 PR All-Region Honoree
26 (26) Ryan Watson 30:19.7 PR
28 (28) Hayden Healey 30:25.8 PR
33 (33) Behailu Bekele-Arcuri 30:35.1 PR
66 Christopher DeSousa 31:17.0 PR
73 Brendan Flynn 31:27.4 PR
WHAT'S NEXT
Penn State's women's cross country team will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 18.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).