STEVENSON, Md. – The Messiah Women's Cross Country team earned the team victory at the MAC Preview meet hosted by Stevenson University on Friday afternoon with a total of 27 points, topping five other teams in attendance. Highlighting the Falcons efforts was an individual win from Delaney Turk in a time of 23:06.6, 21.3 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. The top five Messiah finishers finished in the top 11 runners in the field of 67 runners.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 10:45 a.m. at the Lock Haven Invite for a preview of the Regional Championship course for later this season.

On the Course
The Falcons used their strong pack running from the start to take an early advantage in the field. Delaney Turk and Madison Kimmel found themselves with an early lead in the race with a pack of runners following closely behind. Turk and Kimmel began to create separation as they continued through the first lap before a Mount St. Mary's runner found herself between the pair of Falcons. The three continued strongly together through much of the race, with Turk crossing the line in a time of 23:06.6 to earn the individual win. Kimmel finished in third with a time of 23:43.1, holding her third place spot through the finish.

Elana Pineda and Kendall Chandler continued the strong pack running for the Falcons, contesting much of their race together. The pair finished side by side, with a time of 24:31.2, with Pineda finishing seventh and Chandler finishing eighth. Ava Shirk was the fifth scorer for Messiah, finishing 11th with a time of 24:51.3.

Messiah had a strong pack behind Shirk, with six of the next seven finishers being Falcons. Ella Swayne finished just behind Shirk with a time of 24:52.4. Gracelyn Lacoss and Kenzee Wiker were the next two runners to cross the line in respective times of 25:03.6 and 25:18.2. Lily Mellinger finished 16th in a time of 25:22.9 before Meagan Kime out-leaned Samantha Mynio at the line in a personal best time of 25:29.1, just one tenth of a second ahead of Mynio.

Emmie Battersby finished just outside the top 20, crossing the line in a time of 25:51.2 to finish in 22nd. Close behind her was Katie Brass finishing in 24th in a time of 26:07.0. Lila Kretzing was the next Falcon across the line in a time of 26:11.1, finishing 26th. The Falcons last runner in the top 30 was Addie Shuff, finishing in 30th in a time of 26:56.1. Emily Prothero (27:01.8), Elizabeth Anthony (28:08.2), Kelsey Hoffman (30:19.7), and Grace Bath (33:18.2) also competed for the Falcons.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 10:45 a.m. at the Lock Haven Invite for a preview of the Regional Championship course for later this season.