Edinboro Selected as 2022 PSAC Preseason Women’s Cross Country Favorite

By Press release submission

Aug 25, 2022

The Edinboro Fighting Scots Women’s Cross Country team was selected as the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s preseason favorite in the league’s preseason poll voted on by the head coaches, the PSAC office announced Tuesday.

Boro received 17 first-place votes after capturing its third consecutive PSAC cross country title in 2021. Edinboro also went on to win the Atlantic Region Title getting a spot in the national meet. The Fighting Scots are dangerous returning six-of-seven scorers from the league meet last season, while also adding Kylie Anicic to the roster, who was a dominant distance runner for the Edinboro Indoor and Outdoor Track squad in 2021-22.

Second in the preseason poll is Seton Hill who received one first-place vote. The Griffins just narrowly missed unseating Boro as PSAC Champions last year totaling 73 points in the championship meet as opposed to Edinboro’s 61. Seton Hill will return PSAC Rookie of the Year Hannah Smrcka and add a new head coach in Jamal Johnson.

Picked to finish third is Slippery Rock after placing fourth in the PSAC Championship Meet in 2021. SRU will have to adjust to a new head coach in Bill Jordan, however, Jordan has been with The Rock cross country and track programs for 17 years as an assistant. To help in the transition, they return PSAC Athlete of the Year in Marianne Abdalah.

Coming in at fourth are the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven. LHU placed third in the PSAC Championship Meet a season ago. They should have a couple of key returnees in 2022 in Billie Jo Bollinger and Elaina Klinger.

Rounding out the top five teams selected is Bloomsburg. The Huskies were fifth in the PSAC Championship and return much of their roster in 2022.

The remaining 13 teams and their preseason rankings can be found below. The women’s cross country schedule will be in full swing September 2 with many of the PSAC teams competing through the weekend.

WOMEN

(# of First-Place Votes)

1. Edinboro (17)

2. Seton Hill (1)

3. Slippery Rock

4. Lock Haven

5. Bloomsburg

6. California (Pa.)

7. Kutztown

8. Shippensburg

9. Clarion

10. Gannon