SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's cross country team completed its second and final regular-season meet on Saturday with a victory in the home invitational, putting its five scoring runners among the Top 8 finishers in a 5K held on the campus recreation fields. 
 
Four teams were represented in Saturday's windy and frigid race — Shippensburg, Kutztown, East Stroudsburg and Shepherd. Only the Raiders and Golden Bears fielded at least five runners to warrant a team score. SU finished with 17 points, while KU posted 43 points. 
 
For the second straight meet, it was a battle at the top between East Stroudsburg's Casey Ellis and Shippensburg sophomore Chayce Macknair. The two men ran within a couple of meters of each other throughout the race, with Ellis eventually gaining some additional separation over the final 300 meters to conclude with a 2.4-second victory over Macknair. 
 
Macknair's second place finish was a time of 16:35. Last week, Macknair picked up a win by 1.3 seconds over Ellis. The two men figure to be among the frontrunners at the upcoming conference meet. 
 
Sophomore Drew Dailey was the No. 2 Raider runner and finished third overall, posting a time of 16:35. Dailey established a comfortable gap between himself and the pack of runners behind him. 
 
It was a very tight battle for fourth and fifth place, with freshman Hayden Hunt running 16:47.6 to stave off hard-charging Teddy Mostellar of ESU. Mostellar's sprint to the finish line had him just 0.2 seconds behind Hunt and resulted in fifth place. It was the second straight week that Hunt was a Top 3 scorer for the Raiders.
 
Freshman Aiden Gonder and sophomore Alexander Ermold ran in tandem for much of Saturday's race, with Gonder gaining some separation over the final 1K. Gonder finished seventh in 17:02, and Ermold took eighth in 17:12. Gonder and Ermold rounded out the Raider scorers. 
 
Redshirt-junior Nate Kaplon posted a Top 10 finish, earning 10th place in 17:32. Sophomore Kevin Wagner ran well, placing 12th in 17:43.
 
Sophomore Nathan Harding had a nice showing, coming in one place behind Wagner with a time of 18:01. Freshman Ryan Scicchitano was one second and one place behind Harding.
 
Sophomore Cole Harris was 16th in 18:03, and senior Andrew Feldman completed his final run on the home course in 18:16.
 
Kutztown's Drew Sulon had a nice race and was among the pack of Raider scoring runners for the duration. He ended up in sixth place, running 16:53. KU's Top 3 finishers placed 6-9-11.
 
The 2020 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships will be held Saturday, March 20 at Lock Haven University. 
 
Shippensburg (1st, 17 points)
2. Chayce Macknair 16:08.6
3. Drew Dailey 16:35.1
4. Hayden Hunt 16:47.6
7. Aiden Gonder 17:02.0
8. Alexander Ermold 17:12.7
10. Nate Kaplon 17:32.0
12. Kevin Wagner 17:43.5
13. Nathan Harding 18:01.0
14. Ryan Scicchitano 18:02.9
16. Cole Harris 18:03.5
17. Andrew Feldman 18:16.9

Images from the 2021 Shippensburg University Invitational held Saturday, March 6 on the SU home course.

Photos by Bill Smith/Shippensburg University
Posted by Shippensburg University Athletics on Saturday, March 6, 2021