SELINSGROVE , PA – The Susquehanna University men's and women's cross country teams will be competing at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships at DeSales University on Saturday. The men's 8-kilometer race begins at 11:00 a.m. followed by the women's 6-kilometer race at noon.

The Crusader men finished fourth and the women fifth at last year's championships at Juniata College , and both squads are looking to crack the top three for head coach Marty Owens.

Leading the Susquehanna men is freshman Paul Thistle (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickon), who finished first in all six Crusader meets this season with a best time of 26:44. He will be joined by senior Tyson Snader (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township), who finished 12th at last year's championships, and junior Joe Ramsey (Sunbury, PA/Shikellamy), a 24th-place finisher in 2005.

Freshman Garret Martucci (Sussex , NJ/Vernon Township), sophomore Jon Kunhardt (Greenfield, MA/Frontier Regional) and senior Doug Haines Flourtown, PA/Springfield) will also battle for points for the Crusaders.

The Susquehanna women are paced by senior Heather Matta (Redlands, CA/Westfield, MA), who is among the top contenders for the individual championship after finishing third at last year's MAC championships and 15 th at the NCAA Mideast Regional meet.

Juniors Sara Jagielski (Grand Isle, VT/Rice Memorial), Erica Zornig (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) and Krissie Goulart (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) are back after finishing 22nd, 36th and 50th, respectively, at last year's MAC championships, while sophomores Laura Gausmann (York, PA/West York) and Lindsay Moreau (Lagrangeville, NY/Arlington) along with freshman Cait Pflaum (York, PA/West York) will be making their MAC championship debuts.