Article Courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Molly White

The University of Scranton women's cross country team is set to compete this Saturday at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships hosted by Lock Haven University.

The Royals were originally ranked 10^th in the USTFCCCA Preseason Poll, but have since climbed to seventh after their competitive third place finish at the Landmark Conference Championships.

Johns Hopkins is the favorite to capture the regional title after scoring a perfect 15 points at the Centennial Conference Championship.

Scranton finished fifth in the team standings last year with 188 points, led by senior Samantha Hoffmann who finished 19^th. Hoffmann finished 6^th at the Landmark Conference Championships in a time of 22:43:05.

Junior Emily Hopkins and sophomore Kyrianna Nemitz return after finishing 30^th and 31^st at the 2023 regional meet. Hopkins recorded a 7^th place finish at the conference championship and Nemitz followed in 11^th.

Elsewhere for the Royals, sophomore Callie Gorman is coming off of a 10^th place finish at the Landmark Championships, where she earned Rookie of the Year honors. 

The Royals have finished in the top ten as a team for three consecutive years: earning fifth in 2023, third in 2022, and seventh in 2021. 

The meet will take place at the West Branch Cross Country Course at Lock Haven University and will be live streamed on the PSAC Sports Digital Network. The women's 6k will begin at 11:00 AM, followed by the men's 8k at 12:00 PM.