Brandywine Cross Country Set For USCAA National Championships

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- Members of the Penn State Brandywine men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the national level when the USCAA Championships get underway Friday at Drumlins Country Club in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Lion women will compete as a team for the first time in program history beginning at 11:00 am, while sophomore Alex Rivera-Santiago will represent the Brandywine men's team. The men's national championship race starts at noon on Friday.

Led by three all-PSUAC performers, the Brandywine women placed second at the conference championship meet on October 11 despite competing with just four runners due to injuries. Sophomore Jennifer Petrella placed sixth at the PSUAC Championship to earn her second all-conference award and will race at the national championships for the second consecutive year, looking to improve on her 66th-place finish last fall.

Sophomore Nicole Maginnis ran to eighth at the league championship meet, posting her top 6K time of the season, while freshman Annie Mueller also garnered all-conference recognition with a 10th-place showing. Sophomore Jessica Maginnis set a 6K personal-best time and ran to 18th, while freshman Jessica Powers rounds out the women's squad as she looks to bounce back from injury.

Rivera-Santiago will become the third male runner from Brandywine to compete at the national championships and the first since 2012. He earned a spot in Syracuse after claiming sixth place at the conference championship and earning all-league accolades. Rivera-Santiago's top 8K time of the season came in his most recent race, a 31:27 showing at the Princeton Invitational on October 18.

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry will serve as the host institution for the national championships.