SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's cross country team returned to action Friday morning by having 15 runners compete in the 'Open' race at the prestigious Paul Short Run presented by ASICS. The meet is hosted by Lehigh University on its Goodman Cross Country Course.
 
Shippensburg "beat the heat" Friday by having its 15 currently healthy runners all compete in the 'Open' race at 10:15 a.m. Conditions were still a bit balmy around 70 degrees and sunny, but certainly a bit of a reprieve from the close to 80-degree forecast for mid-afternoon at which SU would have toed the line in the 'Brown' race.
 
Four Raiders finished among the Top 80 finishers. Brooke Miller came within a second of her personal best, completing her eighth collegiate 6K with a time of 23:02.3. It's the second consecutive strong effort for Miller after achieving her PR in SU's last race three weeks ago at Big Spring High School (Dickinson Long Invitational).
 
Shaela Kruskie was just two places and two seconds behind Miller, running 69th with a time of 23:04.8.
 
Mya Trotty and Ella Hartel were separated by just six-tenths of a second, as each crossed the finish line in 23:12 among a clump of various runners. Trotty finished in 76th place; Hartel took 79th place.
 
Victoria Bartholomew served as the fifth and final scorer for the Raiders, breaking the 24-minute mark with a time of 23:50.7 that was good enough for 122nd place.
 
Anna Schaeffer came within two-tenths of a second of breaking the 24-minute mark (24:00.2) and finished within 20 seconds of her 6K personal best. Caleigh Vincent (24:23.7) and Lexi Boyd (24:33.1) each broke the 25-minute mark.
 
Kira Logiovine, Kendall Williams, Alli Cassel, Olivia Walley, Sarah Grace Deal and Mary Stoltz rounded out the Raiders in competition.
 
It was just the second collegiate 6K race for Williams, Cassel, Walley, Deal and Stoltz – all of whom debuted at the distance three weeks ago at Big Spring High School. Deal improved her PR by 13 seconds with a time of 25:16.8.
 
The Paul Short Run, one of the most prestigious cross country meets annually held in the Northeast, features five races for each gender to which teams are assigned based on season times and projections. The top race is the Gold, which is almost entirely composed of NCAA Division I programs. Slotted behind the Gold is the Brown. The White is exclusive to NCAA Division III schools, a format designed to help with the division's national championship qualifying standards. For the second year there is a 'Green' race which features a mixture of schools spanning NCAA Division II and III, junior colleges and independents.
 
The open race held in the morning, for which there is no team scoring, is still competitive as it features a talented field of Division I runners, open competitors, and individuals from schools competing in other races during the day.
 
It proved to be a fortuitous decision for SU to compete in the 'Open' race, as the White, Brown and Green races all ended up being canceled due to the heat and the weather conditions. Scores of runners ended up in the medical tents after the 'Gold' races held at 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
 
Shippensburg returns to action in two weeks on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Gettysburg.
 
Shippensburg (No Team Score)
67. Brooke Miller 23:02.3
69. Shaela Kruskie 23:04.8
76. Mya Trotty 23:12.0
79. Ella Hartel 23:12.6
122. Victoria Bartholomew 23:50.7
136. Anna Schaeffer 24:00.2
173. Caleigh Vincent 24:23.7
189. Lexi Boyd 24:33.1
223. Kira Logiovine 25:03.2
224. Kendall Williams 25:04.0
225. Alli Cassel 25:04.1
236. Olivia Walley 25:13.0
242. Sarah Grace Deal 25:16.8
323. Mary Stoltz 27:13.2
 
Shippensburg's Personal Bests and PR Tracker
67. Brooke Miller 23:02.3 (8th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 23:01.7 [9/12/26 at Big Spring])
69. Shaela Kruskie 23:04.8 (5th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 22:31.8 [11/9/24 at Lock Haven])
76. Mya Trotty 23:12.0 (5th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 21:54.2 [11/8/25 at Lock Haven])
79. Ella Hartel 23:12.6 (6th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 21:46.2 [11/9/24 at Lock Haven])
122. Victoria Bartholomew 23:50.7 (9th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 22:19.8 [11/8/25 at Lock Haven])
136. Anna Schaeffer 24:00.2 (4th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 23:40.9 [10/3/25 at Paul Short])
173. Caleigh Vincent 24:23.7 (8th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 23:26.3 [11/8/25 at Lock Haven])
189. Lexi Boyd 24:33.1 (8th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 23:06.9 [10/5/24 at Paul Short])
223. Kira Logiovine 25:03.2 (7th collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 24:22.3 [11/8/25 at Lock Haven])
224. Kendall Williams 25:04.0 (2nd collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 24:21.0 [9/12/26 at Big Spring])
225. Alli Cassel 25:04.1 (2nd collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 24:37.9 [9/12/26 at Big Spring])
236. Olivia Walley 25:13.0 (2nd collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 24:23.6 [9/12/26 at Big Spring])
242. Sarah Grace Deal 25:16.8 (2nd collegiate XC 6K; PR of 13.2 seconds)
323. Mary Stoltz 27:13.2 (2nd collegiate XC 6K; PR remains 25:05.8 [9/12/26 at Big Spring])