SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's cross country team endured a warm, humid and muggy Friday night to post a runner-up finish at the 16th annual Galen Piper Cross Country Challenge, completing the season-opening 4K race under the lights at the campus recreation complex.
 
SU's Top 4 runners crossed the finish line consecutively in 20th through 23rd place; its Top 8 runners were all within 14 places of each other. The Raiders totaled 87 points in second place, enough for an 11-point gap from the SU alumni in third place.
 
NCAA Division I school George Washington made the trek north from the District of Columbia and posted the decisive victory, as five Revolutionaries were among the Top 9 overall finishers. GW's team score of 24 points is the best by a women's team at the meet since Dickinson's 19-point finish in 2021.
 
Shaela Kruskie, Brooke Miller, Victoria Bartholomew and Mya Trotty all finished within two seconds of each other. Kruskie, the reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) outdoor 10K champion who red-shirted in cross country last season, paced the Raiders with a time of 15:34.5.
 
Ella Hartel, also competing for the first time in two seasons after red-shirting a year ago, rounded out the Raider scorers with a 27th-place finish in 16:10.9.
 
Caleigh Vincent and newcomers Lexi Boyd and Sammie Wiest finished consecutively in 32nd through 34th place with times ranging from 16:17 to 16:23.
 
Raider Hall of Famer Neely Spence Gracey '12 returned once again to her alma mater and won Friday night's race with a time of 14:07.5 – a nine-second margin over George Washington's Hadley Mahoney.
 
Shippensburg returns to action in eight days when it heads over to Newville for Dickinson's annual Long/Short Invitational.
 
Shippensburg (2nd, 87 points)
20. Shaela Kruskie 15:34.5
21. Brooke Miller 15:35.3
22. Victoria Bartholomew 15:36.1
23. Mya Trotty 15:36.6
27. Ella Hartel 16:10.9
32. Caleigh Vincent 16:17.5
33. Lexi Boyd 16:18.0
34. Sammie Wiest 16:23.5
47. Mary Stoltz 16:49.6
50. Kendall Williams 16:50.6
51. Kira Logiovine 16:53.7
53. Olivia Walley 16:56.0
57. Alli Cassel 17:02.3
64. Sarah Grace Deal 17:28.4