CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

Lock Haven, Pa. – LHU Athletics will host the 2019 NCAA DII Men's and Women's Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships, this Saturday, November 9.

On the Men's Side:
Charleston enters the Atlantic Region Championships as the heavy favorite. After winning the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship in dominating fashion, Charleston looks to continue their prowess and fend off the surging Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contingent. The Golden Eagles have maintained their hold atop the regional rankings throughout the year and currently sport a national ranking of 20^th. Charleston is led by All-American Jack Mastandrea and 2018 All-Region performer David Cecchi, who finished runner-up at last year's region championship.

Edinboro is a young and talented squad, ranked second in the regional rankings, and aims to contend with Charleston. At the PSAC Championships, the Fighting Scots were able to establish themselves early, and separated themselves from runner-up Lock Haven. With seven all-conference performers, Edinboro's impressive depth should help their finish on November 9th.

Behind the top two contenders there seems to be a dogfight between four schools for the final spot to represent the Atlantic Region at the DII National Championship meet. The difference between Davis and Elkins (ranked 3rd), Lock Haven (ranked 4th), Concord (ranked 5th) and Shippensburg (ranked 6th) is noticeably minimal and all are seemingly in a tight battle for that final national bid.

Davis Elkins, making their debut season in the MEC and the Atlantic Region, brings a tight group of runners to this year's championship. At the MEC championships, the Senators touted a 41 second 1-5 spread, with their sixth runner just another two seconds off the pace.

Lock Haven opened the season with strong showings at Kutztown and at their home invite, dominating the regional competition at both meets. Following the opening weeks, Lock Haven skyrocketed to No. 3 in the Regional rankings from their original No. 7 designation. After sitting at No. 3 for two weeks, LHU seemingly fell from relevancy during the middle section of the season. The squad was able to rebound in a big way at the PSAC Championships, giving Edinboro a battle and eventually finishing second.

Concord and Shippensburg round out the top six squads, but should not be overlooked. Both squads finished third at their respective conference championships and have the potential to move into that coveted third team position.

Men's Individual Preview:
Twelve All-Region competitors from nine different schools return to the championship this year, leaving room for new names to get into the mix and compete for All-Region honors. David Cecchi and Jack Mastandrea of Charleston return to the 2019 Championships after finishing second and third, respectively last year. Mastandrea enters the meet as the favorite to earn the individual crown after dominating performances throughout the year. He has finished no worse than second in any of his races during his 2019 campaign and is coming off a win at the Mountain East Conference championships by over 25 seconds. Kyle Hinson, also of Charleston, appears to be in closest contention to challenge Mastandrea. Hinson has been shortly off the shoulder of Mastandrea throughout the season.

Hailing from the PSAC, some eager names look to runaway with the crown as well. Senior Joseph Westrick of Gannon just won the PSAC Championships and enters the regional meet on a three-meet winning streak. He finished in fifth at last year's regional championships, only twenty-six seconds behind Mastandrea.

Host Lock Haven's Aaron Pfeil should also be in the mix. Despite a seemingly disappointing fourth place finish at the PSAC Championships, Pfeil has been competitive throughout the season. He was able to knock off Westrick at the LHU Invite, and finished as high as 17^th at Lehigh's Paul Short Run (Brown) with a time of 25:04.7.

Other names to consider are Evan Adanatzian (Kutztown), and John Marenkovic (Slippery Rock) who had breakthrough performances at the PSAC Championships finishing second and third. Colton Cassell (Edinboro) could also contend for the title after sitting out at the conference championships.

On the Women's Side:
Davis Elkins has continued their dominance since Week 1 of the Atlantic Region rankings. Boasting a squad of six freshman up-front, the Senators have been atop of the rankings and have displayed continued prominence, winning three separate meets including the MEC Championships. They dominated said Championship, placing three in the top-five, good for a 38-point margin of victory. They also enter the Regional meet as the only Atlantic Region Women's team receiving votes for the Nation's top 25 rankings.

Edinboro, the PSAC Champions, look to contend with the Davis and Elkins contingent. At their conference championships, the Fighting Scots also placed three runners in the top-five on route to a 35-point margin of victory. Led by All-American Hope Pietrocarlo and All-Region performers Stephanie Parsons and Tori Kimowicz, the Edinboro squad hopes to use lessons learned from a year ago to defend their Regional Title.

But it could be West Chester who achieves the upset after all is said and done. With perhaps the tightest pack in school history, West Chester finished runner up at the PSAC Championships with just a 13.4 second spread between their first and fifth runner. They boast five All-Conference runners and hope to bring that pack to strength at the Atlantic Region Championships.

Seton Hill and Slippery Rock round out the top five in the Region Rankings and appear to be in the best positions to upset the likes of the top three schools and secure their ticket to Nationals. Finishing third and fourth at the PSAC championships respectively, Seton Hill placed three First Team All-Conference runners at the meet, while Slippery Rock rode the coat-tails of two All-Conference runners and a tight 1-5 spread.

Kutztown, Lock Haven, West Liberty State, Bloomsburg and Shippensburg round out the top-10 in the region, and all of those teams aim to have their day on November 9.

Women's Individual Preview:
The Edinboro one-two punch of Stephanie Parsons and Hope Pietrocarlo inevitably sit as the individual favorites heading into the Atlantic Region meet. Parsons boasts a slew of top finishes throughout the 2019 season. She won both the Doug Watts Invitational and PSAC Championships, but perhaps most notably she finished sixth at Lehigh's Paul Short Run (Brown). Pietrocarlo enters the field as the only All-American, after her 27^th place finish at last year's national championship. She will hope to use the experience she gained as part of last year's squad to continue her prominence on the Championship stage.

Laurel Moyer of Lock Haven also boasts an impressive resume that could help her steal the individual crown. She placed third at the most recent PSAC Cross Country Championships, but won both the 5000m, and 10000m at last spring's PSAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Claire Otte of Davis and Elkins favors to be the strongest MEC runner and plans to get in the mix with the PSAC's top-dogs. She won the MEC Championship this year as a freshman and will challenge the stars of the PSAC.

Other names to consider are Hannah Kemp (West Liberty), Svea Timm (Davis and Elkins), and Caitlyn Padgett (Seton Hill).

The Atlantic Region Championship Homepage can be found HERE and contains pertinent meet information and important links.