Wasnetsky Leads Landmark Runners At NCAA Championships

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Four Landmark runners competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships Saturday morning in Cleveland, Ohio. It marked the first time the Landmark had sent more than three runners to the NCAA meet.

Scranton junior Chris Wasnetsky was the top Landmark finisher on the day as he missed all-America honors by just nine seconds and seven places. Wasnetsky covered the 8000-meter course in 26:17.5 to finish 42nd in a field of 276 runners at the Highland Park Golf Course. The top 35 runners earned all-America honors.

On the women's side, Susquehanna's Casey Hess set a new standard for Susquehanna University women's cross country by placing a program-best 55th out of 280 runners with a 6,000-meter time of 23 minutes, 10.6 seconds at Highland Park Golf Course on Nov. 21. Hess' time came on a slow course and was well under her personal-best mark of 21:53.10, recorded at the 2009 Division III Mideast Region championships on Nov. 14.

Also in the men's competition Susquehanna senior Paul Thistle finished a decorated career for the Susquehanna University men's cross country team by placing 165th out of 276 runners with an 8,000-meter time of 27 minutes, 11.9 seconds.

Juniata senior Matt Bailey was the final Landmark runner as he posted a time of 27:44.0 to finish 217th overall. Bailey was the first Juniata runner to participate in the national championship meet, running against the top 276 Division III distance runners in the nation.

Story provided by Juniata, Scranton & Susquehanna Sports Information