SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University men’s and women’s cross country teams are gearing up for Saturday’s Middle Atlantic Conference Championships at Lancaster County Park. The men’s race begins at 11 a.m. while the women’s competition starts at noon.

The Susquehanna men, who finished fifth at last year’s MAC championships, will be led by junior Ryan Gleason (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop H.S.). He finished seventh in the MAC championships as a freshman and fifth last season, when he qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships.

Gleason has the fastest 8,000-meter time in the MAC this season with a time of 25:30 at the Bucknell Invitational on October 5. He will face a battle from defending champion Dave Berdan of Elizabethtown as well as Widener’s Paul Little in his quest to become the Crusaders’ first MAC champion since Greg Pealer won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984.

Sophomore Tyson Snader (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township H.S.) will be a contender for a top-10 finish after turning in the MAC’s eighth-best time of the season at Salisbury on September 28 with a time of 26:47.63.

Also competing for the Crusaders will be freshmen Shane Cartwright (Cranston, RI/Cranston East H.S.), Jadrien Deibler (Snydertown, PA/Shikellamy H.S.), Chris Wiegand (Coatesville, PA/Downingtown H.S.) and Anthony Losorelli (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East H.S.) along with sophomores Chris Seiler (Jarrettsville, MD/North Harford H.S.), Steve Romberger (Lykens, PA/Upper Dauphin H.S.) and Jeremy Apgar (Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional H.S.) and junior Ryan McGuire (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon H.S.).

On the women’s side, Susquehanna will be hard-pressed to match last season’s third-place finish following the graduation of top-10 finishers Kimberly Owen and Delina Cefaratti.

The Crusaders have been unable to field a full squad in each of their last three meets due to injuries, but the team’s top four runners each posted season-best times in their last race at DeSales on October 19.

Senior Erin Colwell (Belleville, PA/Indian Valley H.S.) has been the Crusaders’ top runner this season, running a season-best 20:53.17 at DeSales. Fellow senior Angela Luino (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills H.S.) and juniors Jordan Bolduc (Elkton, MD/Padua Academy) and Amanda Phillips (Waymart, PA/Western Wayne H.S.) will also be in action at the MAC championships.

The Elizabethtown men are favored to win their fourth straight team championship while Moravian’s women are expected to capture their 10th consecutive team crown.