The Dickinson men’s and women’s cross country teams gave it their all on Saturday, Sept. 20 at the 2014 Long/Short Invitational, and it paid off on Homecoming weekend.

The meet took place not far off of campus at Big Spring High School in Newville, PA. The Dickinson men’s team claimed the team title on the long course, and placed fourth overall on the short course.

The women’s team achieved third in team standings in both the 4k and the 6k events. Overall, the Dickinson Cross Country team claimed second place for the program.

In the men’s 8k, Nick Stender ‘15 won the individual title, finishing strong with a time of 25:55. Mark Weinhoffer ‘15 and Hunter Smith ‘15 crossed the line in third and fourth, respectively, which scored points for the Red Devils.

Joey Steadman ‘17 dominated the 4k, passing many top DII runners to place tenth overall with a time of 12:14. Mason Hepner ‘17 and David Klein ‘15 raced through the line in sixteenth and nineteenth place, respectively.

Sarah Rutkowski ‘15 led the way for the Dickinson women in the 4k race, clocking a time of 14:21 and earning a strong second place finish.

Rutkowski was only milliseconds behind the first place finisher from Carnegie Mellon and earned the honor of being the Centennial Conference Runner of the Week for her outstanding
performances so far this season.

Mackenzie Shelgren ‘16 was a top-ten finisher in the 4k, kicking it in with a time of 14:53 against strong competition. Kelsey Horowitz ‘18 was the top Dickinson finisher in the 6k, placing tenth overall with a time of 23:33. Polly Terzian ‘17 was not far behind Horowitz, clocking a time of 23:52.

The Red Devils are currently ranked #10 in the latest U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association National Poll. The Dickinson Red Devils have some recovery time until Saturday, October 4 when they cross the state border to New York for the SUNY Geneseo Invitational.