Note from the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations: Due to an administrative error with the Franciscan roster, two FUS runners have had to be disqualified, resulting in the Penn State Behrend men as the AMCC champions and Franciscan the runner-up. It is a very unfortunate situation, and we do want to be sure that Behrend receives proper recognition.
GRAND ISLE, N.Y. – It was a successful championship again for the Franciscan University of Steubenville cross country teams Saturday morning, as the women earned the championship title for the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for the fourth consecutive year, and the men's team placed second behind Penn State Behrend.
Nicole Krajewski was the individual champion for the women's 6K, running a time of 23:31, which was 43 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Theresa Evans (24:35), Sara Mueller (25:43), and Molly Chambers (25:53) came in third, fifth and sixth overall, respectively. The Lady Barons had 11 runners finish in the top 20, with 87 runners competing in total.
Bill Jones was the individual champion for the men as he continued his dominance in AMCC competition. He finished the 8K with a time of 26:53, a full 80 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, teammate Jack Kaiser who finished with a time of 28:13. Rounding out an all-Barons top three was third place finisher Kevin LeRoy with a time of 28:22. Also finishing in the top five was Joseph Schlueter in fifth place with a time of 28:24.
Franciscan Athletic Director Chris Ledyard was in attendance for the race, and was almost speechless at the amount of heart and selflessness that the Franciscan cross country teams showed on Saturday.
"It was freezing out," Ledyard said, "and they just dominated. Every one of them finished strong. Bill Jones ran across the finish line—God knows how far in front of everyone else—and he doesn't even stop to rest. He blesses himself and turns around to run back out to the course to cheer on the rest of his team. Nicole Krajewski didn't even leave the trail until every one of the Franciscan girls had crossed the finish line, encouraging every single runner."
Ledyard said that the teams are perfect examples of what St. Paul meant in his first letter to the Corinthians, "I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
"They are just a total inspiration," he added. "I think the fact that we repeated secures the fact that last year's men's cross country championship win wasn't a fluke. We're genuinely building a cross country program for the men, just like we have for the women."
Ledyard sang the praises of the teams' head coach, Dan Keubler.
"He is a technician," he noted. "Dan allows his runners their own personality. He allows them to drive each other, inspire each other. He is a quiet, disciplined and focused guy. He expects them to have the discipline and focus it takes to be a cross country runner, but he allows them their own personalities."
Ledyard noted the obvious dedication the student-athletes had to give in order to be where they are as a sport.
"When you are standing there watching, you realize how incredible these kids actually are. They are as focused and tenacious as any athletes I've ever seen. The culture of Franciscan University is so wildly evident in our cross country runners. They are so good to each other, such a bright light of discipline and kindness."
