BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – The Cairn University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Bryn Athyn Invitational in their last meet before the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championships on Friday. The women won the event, earning their first victory of the season, while the men's team finished second.
 
For the women, the Highlanders were paced by freshman Emily Petty (Fort Mill, SC / Northstar Academy) who earned the first individual victory of her career with a 4K time of 18:09 to top the field of 20 runners. Senior Isabella Palladino (Langhorne, PA / Homeschooled) crossed the line next for Cairn with a time of 20:50 to finish in seventh place, while classmate Aubrey Eshelman (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster County Christian) earned a time of 21:17 to finish ninth. Sophomore Jeneba Koroma (Sharon Hill, PA / Christ Academy) finished right behind Eshelman with a 10^th place time of 21:58. Junior Madeline Chase (Apalachin, NY / Ross Corners Christian Academy) rounded out the top-five Cairn finishers with an 11^th place mark of 22:06.
 
For the men, Cairn was paced by freshman Nicholas Palladino (Langhorne, PA / Homeschooled), who crossed first for the Highlanders with a 4K time of 16:17 to finish seventh in the 23-runner field. Crossing second for the Highlanders was senior Brian Jennings (Germantown, PA / Springside Chestnut Hill Academy), who finished in ninth place with a time of 16:37. Junior Tim Colgan followed with a time of 17:13 for 11^th place. Seniors Chris Potts (Northeast Philadelphia, PA / Calvary Christian Academy) and Weston Colon (Fords, NJ / Woodbridge) rounded out the top-five finishers for the Highlanders, finishing in 12^th (17:33) and 13^th (17:48) place, respectively.
 
The women's and men's cross country teams will now prepare for the most important meet of the season on Saturday, October 30 when they compete in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championships at McDade Park in Scranton, Pa.