W&J Cross Country Sweeps PAC Weekly Awards; Ryan Adds ECAC Honor
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Washington & Jefferson College senior Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) and sophomore Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) were selected as the season’s first winners of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Cross Country Runner of the Week awards on Monday.
In addition, Ryan was honored as the ECAC Division III South Runner of the Week after claiming his second-straight Waynesburg University Invitational title.
Ryan, who has now claimed 10 career PAC weekly awards, bested a field of 89 runners with a time of 26:09.9 on the 8K Greene County Airport course. He breezed to the championship by 45 seconds after Point Park’s Dylan Gunn crossed second at 26:56.6.
Ryan has been the first place medalist at four races throughout his standout career: 2009 Hood (Md.) Invitational, 2011 Waynesburg Invitational, 2011 Pitt-Greensburg Invitational, 2012 Waynesburg Invitational. Ryan, a 2011 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, is also a multi-time conference champion during the spring for the Presidents’ track & field team.
Galligan raced through the finish line first in Waynesburg’s 142-woman field after running the 6K course in 22:46.4, a time that was 28.4 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. The PAC weekly honor is the third of her career.
Galligan has won two collegiate races (2011 Pitt-Greensburg, 2012 Waynesburg) and has been the runner-up three times (2011 Waynesburg, 2011 Carnegie Mellon, 2011 PAC Championships).
Last November, Ryan and Galligan became the first two cross country runners in school history to compete at the NCAA Division III Championships.
