GROVE CITY COLLECTS SIX FIRST-PLACE VOTES, SECURES TOP SPOT ON 2012 PAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES' POLL (8/25/12)

Grove City College used six first-place votes to secure the top spot on the 2012 PAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll, narrowly edging two-time reigning conference champion Saint Vincent College for top billing. The Bearcats earned the remaining three first-place votes and totaled 75 points. For more great PAC men's cross country information, check out our online season preview section.

PAC SCHOOLS TABBED FOR ACADEMIC HONORS (2/16/12)

Six PAC men's cross country teams have earned 2011 Division III All-Academic Men's Cross Country status by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The PAC men's teams were represented by Geneva, Grove City, Saint Vincent, Wash. & Jeff., Waynesburg, and Westminster.  A total of 131 men's teams earned all-academic status in 2011. To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team, the team must have had a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 through the 2011 fall semester.

SAINT VINCENT PICKED TO REPEAT IN 2011 POLL (8/31/11)

Saint Vincent has been picked to repeat as PAC men's cross country champions in 2011, according to a preseason poll of league men's cross country coaches. Coached by 2010 PAC Coach of the Year Dr. Andy Herr, the Saint Vincent men’s cross country team looks to capture their second PAC title. In 2010, the Bearcats knocked off 23-time defending champion Grove City College to capture Saint Vincent's first ever PAC title in school history.
 

2011 PAC FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS: MEN'S XC (8/29/11)
Today, we look at PAC men's cross country. Last year, the Saint Vincent men knocked off 23-time defending champion Grove City and became the first team in school history to capture a PAC title. All but four runners return for the Bearcats in 2011, including six of the team's top seven. However, the Wolverines will be looking to regain the PAC title in 2011 with 16 veteran returners. The complete 2011 PAC Men's Cross Country Preview is now online, along with the 2011 composite men's cross country schedule.

BETHANY NAMES GUINN CROSS COUNTRY COACH (8/10/11)
Michael Guinn, a former assistant coach at Division II institutions West Virginia Wesleyan College and Seton Hill University, has been named the new head men’s and women’s cross country coach at Bethany. He replaces Brandon Spaulding, who served as head coach the past two seasons.

MAREK TABBED AS NEW W&J HEAD COACH (7/21/11)
Washington & Jefferson has named Shawn Marek as its new head men's & women's cross country/track & field coach. He replaces Mark FitzPatrick, who resigned to take the head coaching job at Denison. Marek recently spent two years as the head coach for both sports at Salem College in Winston Salem, N.C. A 2000 graduate of Saint Bonaventure, Marek was a co-captain for the Bonnies' NCAA Division I cross country squad. 

THOMAS MORE HIRES JACKSON AS HEAD COACH (6/30/11)
Derrick Jackson has been named head men's and women's cross country coach at Thomas More College. Jackson replaces Brian Alessandro, who resigned this spring after six years in the position. He comes from Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was the assistant cross country coach for three seasons. Jackson ran cross country and track and field at Wilmington College where he was named All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and All-Great Lakes Region.  He also served in the Ohio Army National Guard from 2000-2007, where he was deployed to Iraq twice and earned numerous military awards.

THREE FROM PAC SELECTED TO 2011 ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK & FIELD TEAMS (6/3/11)

Three PAC athletic standouts have been honored with selection to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-District II College Division Cross Country/Track & Field teams, released by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). On the men's side, also earning second team laurels were Grove City seniors Garrett Cichowitz (3.64 GPA, entrepreneurship) and Kevin Gallagher (3.86 GPA,policital science/history) along with Westminster junior Morgan Hanes (3.89 GPA, political science).

FITZPATRICK RESIGNS AS W&J HEAD COACH (5/10/11)
Six-time PAC cross country/track & field Coach of the Year Mark FitzPatrick resigned from Washington & Jefferson today to accept the head men's and women's track & field position at Denison University. FitzPatrick, who guided the W&J women's track & field team to its third PAC title two weeks ago, spent eight years as the head coach for the Presidents' cross country and track & field programs.  A national search for the Presidents' new head cross country/track & field coach begins immediately. 

GCC's CICHOWITZ LAUDED BY PAC SAAC (12/15/10)
The PAC has named Grove City senior cross country runner Garrett Cichowitz as PAC SAAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Month for December 2010.

SAINT VINCENT, GCC'S CICHOWITZ CAPTURE  TITLES AT 2010 PAC CHAMPIONSHIP IN WAYNESBURG (10/30/10)
The Saint Vincent men and Grove City women captured team titles at the 2010 PAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships, hosted on Saturday, Oct. 30, by Waynesburg University at the Greene County Airport. The men's race saw the Bearcats capture their first-ever PAC team championship in any sport, while also snapping Grove City's 19-year run as conference champions. GCC senior Garrett Cichowitz was named 2010 PAC Men's Cross Country MVP after capturing the individual title by two seconds over Scott Ryan of Washington & Jefferson, while veteran Saint Vincent mentor Andy Herr earned PAC Men's Coach of the Year laurels. On the women's side, the Wolverines rolled to their 24th straight league crown as GCC head coach Sean Severson was tabbed for PAC Coach of the Year honors. 2010 MVP recognition went to race champion Ivette Mejia of Saint Vincent. Final results for men and women are now online.

WAYNESBURG TO HOST PAC CHAMPIONSHIP (10/29/10)
The Greene County Airport in Waynesburg, Pa., will be the site of the 2010 PAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Oct. 30, hosted by Waynesburg University. The men's race will begin at 10 a.m. followed by the women's race at approximately 10:45 a.m. The event is open to the public free of charge. Grove City College is the long-time dominant force in PAC cross country, but the Wolverines will be pushed by Saint Vincent (eligible for the PAC title for the first time in 2010) and a host of other strong runners and teams.

OCTOBER 17 CROSS COUNTRY RELEASE ONLINE (10/18/10)
The PAC weekly press release covering races through October 17, including men's & women's runners of the week, is now online.

2010 PAC PREVIEW: SVC TO PUSH GROVE CITY (8/31/10)
PAC cross country has traditionally been the domain of the Grove City Wolverines, as the GCC men are 18-time PAC champions while the women have won 21 league titles in a row. However, a new contender may emerge this fall in the form of Saint Vincent, which has run close to Grove City in the past few PAC meets and is now entering its first season of eligibility for the PAC title. 2009 runner-ups Thiel (men) and Westminster (women) also figure to be in the mix at the 2010 PAC Championships, slated for October 30 at Waynesburg. The 2010 PAC Cross Country Preview is now online, along with the 2010 league composite schedule.

HARDIE TABBED AS WAYNESBURG HEAD COACH (7/13/10)
Chris Hardie has been named the new head coach of the Waynesburg University men’s and women’s cross country teams. Hardie served as the team’s assistant coach in the fall of 2009. He also just completed his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Waynesburg University men’s and women’s track & field teams. Hardie replaces former head coach Blair Zimmerman, who served as head coach for the past 11 seasons.

EIGHT FROM PAC NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT (6/3/10)
Eight standout PAC student-athletes (five men, three women) have been selected to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-District II cross country/track & field teams, released today by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Of the eight, three garnered first team honors and will now advance to the Academic All-America national ballot. On the men's side, Grove City senior Derek Kruse (3.92 grade-point average (GPA), molecular biology) and Westminster senior Jeremiah Patterson (3.91, broadcast communications) were tabbed, while second team honorees were the GCC junior duo of Garrett Cichowitz (3.60, entrepreneuship/Christian thought) and Kevin Gallagher (3.88, political science/history) and W&J sophomore Josh Buckley (3.44, biology). The women's team was led by first team senior Jodi Bodo (3.82, communication) of Bethany and a pair of second teamers from Westminster in senior Abbey Basta (3.79, English) and sophomore Emily Dolsak (3.94, exploratory).

SPALDING TABBED AS NEW BETHANY COACH (1/28/10)
Brandon Spalding, a former national championship qualifier at Bridgewater (Va.) College, has been chosen as the new head men’s and women’s cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at Bethany College. Spalding replaces Matt Abel, who resigned in January.

PAC TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP WINNERS RELEASED (12/10/09)
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) has announced the PAC Team Sportsmanship Award winners for Fall 2009 sports. The PAC Team Sportsmanship Award was started in the 2008-09 sports season, and is an effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among conference teams. The award is sponsored by the PAC Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and is presented to one team in each of the 19 PAC-sponsored varsity sports.

GROVE CITY SWEEPS PAC CHAMPIONSHIPS (10/31/09)
Grove City College swept the men's and women's team and individual titles at the 2009 PAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championship, held Oct. 31 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. The Wolverine men, led by 2009 PAC MVP Garrett Cichowitz, finished with 18 points in PAC championship competition to easily outdistance second-place Thiel (57). In overall competition, GCC finished with 29 points to edge the host Bearcats (37). GCC mentor Sean Severson swept both the men's and women's PAC Coach of the Year awards for 2009.