LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Cross Country team was in action at the Lock Haven Invite on Saturday morning, with the Falcons taking place in both the Crimson and White 6k races. In the more competitive Crimson race, Messiah finished with 159 points, just nine points behind Grove City who was the top Division III team. The Falcons finished fifth out of 22 teams. In the White Race, Messiah finished second out of 20 teams with 62 points, finishing only behind Pitt Club XC with 46 points. The day was highlighted with 13 personal best times and an additional seven season bests.

Messiah returns to action on Friday, Oct. 2 at 1:15 p.m. when they travel to Lehigh University for the annual Paul Short Run.

Crimson 6k Race
Delaney Turk continued her successful junior campaign, earning top finishing honors for the Falcons with a personal best time of 22:08.5. Turk made a jump from 32^nd to 20^th as she crossed the 2.9k check before gradually climbing through the second half of the race to finish in ninth in the field of 183 runners. Also earning a personal best was Madison Kimmel, finishing 29^th in 22:08.5 after beginning the race in 52^nd. Elana Pineda was close behind, beginning in 96^th before settling into 56 at the 3.5k mark. Pineda climbed an additional 24 spots to finish in 32^nd in a personal best time of 23:04.6.

A pair of first year Falcons rounded out the scoring for Messiah, with Gracelyn Lacoss and Kendall Chandler both running personal bests. Lacoss finished in 51^st with a time of 23:32.0 while Chandler finished in 54^th with a time of 23:34.8.

The remaining trio in the Crimson race each ran season best times, as they all finished within the top 100. Kenzee Wiker crossed the line in 67^th with a time of 23:50.5.
Ella Swayne was the next Falcon to cross, finishing 72^nd in a time of 23:54.9. Rounding out the Falcons efforts in the Crimson race was Ava Shirk, crossing in a time of 24:11.7 to finish in 88^th.

White 6k Race
As mentioned, the contingent of Falcons in the White race competed strong, finishing second as a team in a field of 20 with 176 individual runners. Messiah finished only behind Pitt Club XC. Leading the Falcons was Lily Mellinger, crossing the line in a personal best time of 23:50.5. Mellinger started the race in 33^rd before gaining 15 places through the 2.9k check and an additional 10 through the end of the race to finish in eighth.

The trio of Kayra DeVries, Meagan Kime, and Katie Brass spent much of the race near each other, using each other to all run new personal bests. DeVries just outleaned Kime at the line as the pair finished 11^th and 12^th with respective times of 23:59.4 and 23:59.7. Brass was close behind, finishing in a time of 24:09.5, claiming 14^th.

Emmie Battersby and Lila Kretzing were within six seconds of each other for the entirety of the race. Battersby crossed in 17^th with a personal best time of 24:14.7 while Krezting finished right behind her in a personal best time of 24:20.1. Samantha Mynio was the final Falcon in the top 25, finishing in 24^th with a season best time of 24:35.2.

The duo of Emily Prothero and Addie Shuff raced together, finishing just seconds apart as the pair each ran new personal bests of 26:05.9 and 26:09.5 respectively. Elizabeth Anthony was the next Falcon to cross the line, finishing in a season best time of 26:18.7. Aubrey Yeager crossed the line in a time of 27:06.3 before Grace Bath and Kelsey Hoffman rounded out the Falcons efforts with season best times of 28:48.7 and 29:50.0 respectively.

Up Next
Messiah returns to action on Friday, Oct. 2 at 1:15 p.m. when they travel to Lehigh University for the annual Paul Short Run.