Ryan Claims Second-Straight Waynesburg Title; Galligan Captures Women’s Race
WAYNESBURG, Pa. – For the second consecutive year, Washington & Jefferson College senior Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) won the Waynesburg University Cross Country Invitational individual title on Saturday at the Greene County Airport. In addition, sophomore Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) swept the titles for the Presidents after winning the women’s 6K race.
Last year, Ryan and Galligan became the first two cross country runners in school history to compete at the NCAA Division III Championships and the duo appears primed for another record-breaking year.
Ryan topped the field of 89 runners with a time of 26:09.9 on the 8K course. He helped W&J (134 points) place fifth in the nine-team field which was topped by California’s (Pa.) 33 points. Ryan breezed to the championship by 45 seconds as Point Park’s Dylan Gunn was second at 26:56.6.
Galligan was victorious in the 142-woman field after posting a time of 22:46.4. Otterbein’s Rebekah Reece was second at 23:14.8. Geneva won the women’s team title with 39 points, while W&J was eighth with 203 points.
Senior Benjamin Kopchick (Clarksburg, Pa./Saltsburg) earned the men’s squad’s second-best finish in 20th place (28:35.6), while junior Ronald Graf (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Park) took 34th place at 30:01.3.
Freshman Keri Reeves (Calimesa, Calif./Yucaipa) placed 34th for the W&J women with a time of 26:42.8 and classmate Jackie Smith (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) finished in 27:30 to post a 48th-place showing.
W&J is back in action Friday at the Slippery Rock Invitational (5:00 pm).
