ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, October 29, 2005

Etown Finishes Second at MAC Championships

HUNTINGDON, Pa. --- A very young Elizabethtown team finished as the runner-up of the Middle Atlantic Conference at the 2005 MAC Championships, hosted Saturday by Juniata College. Etown placed second out of 14 scoring teams with 55 points, and Messiah College won the meet with 50 points. Six of Elizabethtown’s runners placed in the top 20 overall in the 138-finisher field to earn All-MAC honors, and four of them were first-year students.

The Blue Jays’ top finisher, as well as the top finishing first-year student in the race and consequently the 2005 MAC Rookie of the Year was Samantha Jones (Chambersburg, PA/ Chambersburg). She finished sixth overall in 24:00 on the 6k course. Also finishing in the top ten to earn spots on the All-MAC First Team for Etown were junior Erin Deihl (Aaronsburg, PA/Penns Valley) in eighth place in 24:09 and first-year student Tiffany Kulp (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) in ninth place in 24:10. Deihl became the first Etown women’s cross country runner ever to earn a spot on the All-MAC First Team three times in a career.

Finishing between 11th and 20th place to earn All-MAC Second Team honors for Etown were first-year student Amanda Daws (Thorofare, NJ/West Deptford) in 15th in 24:41, first-year student Allison Rahtes (Coopersburg, PA/Palisades) in 17th place in 24:56, and sophomore Erin Fisher (McEwensville, PA/Warrior Run) in 18th place in 24:57. Finishing one place shy of All-MAC status in 21st place overall for Etown was graduate student Amanda Santore (Boothwyn, PA/Garnet Valley) in 25:10.

Etown will return to action Saturday, November 12 in the Mideast Regional Championships, which will be hosted by Dickinson College and held at Carlisle ( Pa.) High School.

At Huntingdon, Pa.
2005 Middle Atlantic Conference Championships (6k course)
Team Scores: 1. Messiah 50; 2. Elizabethtown 55. 3. Juniata 93; 4. DeSales 124; 5. Susquehanna 153; 6. Moravian 157; 7. Scranton 209; 8. Widener 219; 9. Lycoming 249; 10. Drew 257; 11. Lebanon Valley 280; 12. King’s 329; 13. Albright 362; 14. Delaware Valley 376.
Etown individual finishers (138 finishers): 6. Samantha Jones* 24:00; 8. Erin Diehl* 24:09; 9. Tiffany Kulp* 24:10; 15. Amanda Daws^ 24:41; 17. Allison Rahtes^ 24:56; 18. Erin Fisher^ 24:57; 21. Amanda Santore 25:10; 27. Tara Fagan 25:26; 46. Sarah Grove 26:08; 49. Kim Whalen 26:24; 52. Meghan Ryder 26:31; 69. Kim Lamp 27:30.

* All-MAC First Team; ^ All-MAC Second Team