PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Cairn University men's and women's cross country teams traveled to the Belmont Plateau to compete in the annual Philadelphia Metropolitan Meet on Saturday.
 
The women finished in 10^th place out of 12 teams, while the men earned an 11^th place finish out of 13 teams in a very talented field of runners.
 
For the women, the Highlanders were paced by freshman Emily Petty (Fort Mill, SC / Northstar Academy) who placed 40^th in the 95-runner field with a 5K time of 25:51. Petty was closely followed by senior teammates Aubrey Eshelman (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster County Christian) who finished the course in 27:51, good enough for 58^th place. Senior Isabella Palladino followed closely behind Eshelman, crossing the finish line in 27:58 to finish in 60^th position.
 
For the men, Cairn was led by freshman Nicholas Palladino (Langhorne, PA / Homeschooled), who crossed first for the Highlanders with an 8K time of 36:44 to finish 56^th in the 105-runner field. Crossing next for the Highlanders was sophomore Joseph Keeports (York, PA / Central York HS) with a time of 37:21 to place 62^nd, while senior Brian Jennings (Germantown, PA / Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) was right behind with a 69^th place finish of 39:00. Junior Tim Colgan also followed closely, completing the course in a time of 40:51, good enough for 72^nd place.
 
The women's and men's cross country teams will be back on the course on Saturday, September 18, when they travel to Scranton, PA to compete in the ever-important Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Preview Meet at McDade Park.