SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University men's and women's cross country teams are gearing up for Saturday's Middle Atlantic Conference championships hosted by Juniata College. The women's 6,000-meter race will start at 11 a.m., with the men's 8,000-meter race at noon.

The Susquehanna men, who finished fifth at last year's MAC championships, will be led by junior Kyle Snyder (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin East) . Snyder has the team's top time this season, with a 13th-place finish in 27:50.75 at the James Early Invitational on Oct. 8. In the 2004 MAC championships, Snyder finished 21st in 27:26.15.

Junior Tyson Snader (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) returned to action after a two-year absence for the Crusaders. Snader, who finished 13th at the 2002 MAC Championships with a time of 27:31, has the third-fastest time on the team this season with a 28:02.73 at the Dickinson Long Course/Short Course Invitational on Oct. 1.

Senior Jadrien Deibler (Snydertown, PA/Shikellamy) will attempt to improve on a 36th-place finish at last year's championships, where he recorded a time of 28:19.09. He recorded the second-fastest time on the team this season with a 27:55.87 at the Dickinson Invitational. In the 2003 championships, he finished a strong 10th in a time of 27:38.92.

Sophomore Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, PA/Shikellamy) owns the fourth-best time on the squad this season, a 28:03.17 at the Dickinson Invitational. He will look to improve on a 30th-place finish at last years championships, where he recorded a time of 27:58.99.

Sophomore Jentre Deibler (Snydertown, PA/Shikellamy), brother of Jadrien, will look to repeat a successful MAC championship performance. In 2004, Deibler finished just ahead of Ramsey in 29th-place with a time of 27:58.76. He owns the seventh-fastest time on the team this year with a 29:09.18 at the DeSales Invitational on Oct. 15.

Freshman JJ Brooks (Cogan Station, PA/Meadowbrook Christian) will look to continue a solid rookie campaign at the championships. Brooks has the sixth-fastest time on the team this season with a time of 29:09.13 at the James Early Invitational.

Seniors Chris Wiegand (Coatesville, PA/Downingtown) and George Haines (Floutown, PS/Springfield), juniors Doug Haines (Flourtown, PA/Springfield) and Ken Dammers (Sussex, NJ/Vernon Township), along with freshmen Chris Tierney (Feeding Hills, MA/Agawam) and Brian Clark (Easton, PA/Vernon Township (NJ)) will also compete for the Crusader men on Saturday.

On the women's side, an injury-ridden and youthful squad will aim to build upon last year's sixth-place finish.

Junior Heather Matta (Holyoke, MA/Westfield), who earned second-team All-MAC honors with a 13th-place finish at the 2004 championships in 24:33.30 at last year's championships, owns the squad's top time on a 6,000-meter course this year, a 23:26 at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 24., the second-fastest 6-kilometer time in program history.

Sophomore Erica Zornig (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) will look to improve upon her 25th-place finish last year where she recorded a time of 25:16.90. Zornig owns the second-fastest time on the team this year with a time of 24:24 at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational.

With an injury forcing out freshman Laura Gausmann (York, PA/West York), sophomore Sara Jagielski (Grand Isle, VT/Rice Memorial) will fill the No. 3 spot for the Crusaders. Jagielski finished 43rd at last year's championships and owns the fourth-fastest time on the team this year in 25:24 at the Spiked Shoe Invitational.

In her first year of competition, sophomore Krissie Goulart (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) holds the fifth-fastest time on the team this season with a 26:18 clocking at the Spiked Shoe Invitational.

Rounding out the lineup for the Crusaders will be seniors Meghan Johnson (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) and Daisy Conduah (New York, NY/Manhattan Center for Science and Math), junior Wendy McCardle (Hackettstown, NJ/Mount Olive), sophomore Katherine Bell (Lititz, PA/Manheim Township) and freshmen Samantha McBreen (Port Carbon, PA/Nativity BVM) and Katie Walsh (Plainsboro, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro North).

Susquehanna will try to dethrone three-time defending MAC champion Elizabethtown along with Messiah and Widener for the men's team title while the women will battle with defending title-holder Elizabethtown along with Moravian and Messiah.