NEWVILLE, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Cross Country team performed very well today at the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, improving upon their regional ranking of ninth by finishing in 8th place as a team out of 28 schools. The Falcons ended up with 238 points behind two All-Region performances to take eighth, both metrics their strongest since 2019 after finishing outside the top 10 for the last six years. The Falcons finished just ahead of regionally fifth-ranked Dickinson (ninth, 259 points), fourth-ranked Salisbury (10th, 262 points), and seventh-ranked Franklin & Marshall (11th, 274 points), clearly outperforming their regional ranking and coming just short of Geneva (seventh, 214 points) and Washington & Jefferson (sixth, 201 points). 

The Falcons took advantage of excellent conditions to run very quickly on a difficult, hilly course, using the opportunity to run a fantastic top five average time of 23:29, a time that comes close to their performances on other much quicker courses this season. This number also exceeds their top five average time of 24:50 on this same course two years by an unbelievably large margin that is difficult to put into words, demonstrating the team's astronomical performance over just the last two years. Each of the Falcons' seven racers today ran their fastest time ever on the course, enabling them to overperform their predicted finish and finish as the strongest Messiah team so far this decade. 

Race Action
Junior Ella Swayne ran an excellent race to finish as the top Falcon on the day in 18th place overall, earning All-Region honors with a time of 22:23.28. Swayne opened her race very cautiously with a 6:11 mile in 44th, spending the first half of the race alongside teammate Delaney Turk before surging ahead through the field over the hills. Swayne actually increased her pace over the hilly section of the course, allowing her to improve to 30th at the 3k mark and to pass a further 11 competitors by the 5k mark. Swayne closed with a 3:08 kilometer according to the timing mats on the course to improve one further place, cementing her finish inside the top 20. Swayne's time of 22:23 allowed her to improve an astonishing 4:29 over her performance on the same course two years ago, an incredible performance that allowed her to compete very strongly today for a spot at Nationals.

Sophomore Delaney Turk was the second Falcon to cross the line, running a stellar time of 22:49.95 on a challenging course to place 32nd overall and earn All-Region honors by finishing inside the top 35. Turk began her race with Swayne and accompanied her teammate through halfway before Swayne's incredible surge, while Turk carried on strongly and maintained roughly the same positioning in the field through the remainder of the race. Turk improved from 44th to 36th between the mile and three-kilometer mark before passing 4 athletes during the second half of the race, cementing her All-Region status. 

Madison Kimmel ran a fantastic race to finish as the third Falcon, finishing in 39th place with a time of 23:10.20 that sits less than three seconds outside of her personal record despite the challenging nature of today's course. Kimmel ran a very smart race in isolation from any teammates, passing through the first mile with a time of 6:20 and increasing her standing in the field with a strong run through the hilly section that allowed her to pass 13 competitors. Kimmel held her place during the final kilometer, closing in an excellent time of 3:19 according to the course to pass one athlete and prove an excellent third score for the Falcons. Kimmel's place of 39th significantly exceeds her 65th and 63rd place finish at Regionals during her first two years as a Falcon, emphasizing her improvements this year.

Elana Pineda had a fantastic day to finish as the fourth Falcon, running an exceptional time despite competing on a course that would not have tended to play to her comparative strengths. Pineda ran a time of 24:31.44 to take 78th overall, a performance enabled by a remarkably patient race that saw Pineda pass through the one-mile mark in a time of 6:37 as the last Falcon. Pineda remained patient until the halfway point of the race, using a two-kilometer stretch between 3k and 5k to pass 13 competitors and a final kilometer of 3:18 to pass 13 more in just three minutes of running. Pineda's time of 24:31 sits just 15 seconds outside of her season best on a much flatter course, while her finishing place of 78th nearly matches her placement of 74th at last year's Regionals on a much flatter course.

Freshman Emmie Battersby was the fifth and final Falcon to contribute to the team score, placing 81st overall with a time of 24:34.36. Battersby ran strongly from the start, passing through the first mile with a time of 6:27.2 alongside freshman teammate Kenzee Wiker. Battersby continued strongly throughout the rest of the race after surging ahead during the second mile, only finding Pineda in the finishing straight of the race and following her teammate closely to the finish. Incredible Battersby's time of 24:34 stands as a new personal record for the freshman, improving upon her previous record of 24:41 on a much quicker course from earlier in the season.

Freshman Kenzee Wiker was the sixth Falcon to cross the line, running a time of 24:49.3 to place 93rd overall. Wiker began her race alongside freshman teammate Battersby before following her teammates' lead through much of the middle section of the race, ultimately closing strongly over the last kilometer to pass two competitors. Samantha Mynio also performed well as the final Falcon in 110th overall, stopping the clock at 25:17.64 to earn a nine-second improvement on her time over the same course earlier this season. 

Up Next
The Messiah women's cross-country team concluded their season with today's Regional Championships and will have the indoor track season to look forward to next, which will start in December.