LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – A young group of Gannon runners continued to show the promise that is ahead for the Gannon women's cross country program on Saturday at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional. Some veteran runners also turned in personal-best efforts.
 
Two freshmen and a sophomore led the Golden Knights as they placed 12th among 22 teams at the Atlantic Regional.
 
Coach Rob Ahrens was especially pleased that all seven of his runners turned in personal-best times as his team closed the season with an outstanding effort.
 
"The women finished the season with by far their best races of the year," Ahrens said. "Every single one of them ran PRs, and more than half of them saw improvements of over a minute. They improved two places from their 2023 regional finish and were the eighth-place PSAC team after finishing 11th at the conference championship two weeks ago."
 
Emily Bowers (Silver Creek, N.Y./Silver Creek), a freshman who has led the Knights most of the season, again paced Gannon with a 33rd-place effort in a time of 22:15.1. That time was 1 minute, 2 seconds better than her previous PR. Two weeks ago, she earned all-conference honors at the PSAC Championships.
 

 
Another freshman, Alexis Abbett (Sharpsburg, Pa./Aquinas Academy), finished 68th with a time of 22:51.1. Her previous PR was 23:42, an improvement of 51 seconds. She did that despite battling an injury during the late portion of the season.
 
Sophomore Megan Ickes (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) continued her dramatic improvement by finishing 75th with a time of 22:58.0. That beat her PR by 1:18.
 
Senior Elissa Scheel (Medina, Ohio/Highland) crossed the finish line 86th in 23:14.0, an improvement of 48 seconds over her top 6K time.
 
"I'm also thrilled for Elissa Scheel (Medina, Ohio/Highland), who set a 48-second PR, bettering a time that has stood as her PR since her freshman year," Ahrens said. "It's a great example of someone who has gone through highs and lows in her career but kept working and finishes on a high note."
 

 
Taylor Friello (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) hit a PR of 24:01.1 while finishing 116th. Jessica McCracken (Limestone, Pa./Clarion-Limestone Area) topped her previous PR by an impressive 1:58 as she posted a time of 24:08.5 to finish 120th.
 
Freshman Brooke Wissinger (Fombell, Pa./Riverside) (137th) turned in a time of 24:54.3 to beat her previous best time by 1:03.
 
Top 3 teams
(22-team field)
1. Davis & Elkins 93
2. Slippery Rock 100
3. East Stroudsburg 114
12. Gannon 359
 
Top 3 runners
(163-runner field)
1. Anna Igims, Slippery Rock 20:35.4
2. Morgan Janiuk, Millersville 20:42.4
3. Leigha Hall, West Virginia Wesleyan 20:48.2 

Gannon runners
33. Emily Bowers (Silver Creek, N.Y./Silver Creek) 22:15.1
68. Alexis Abbett (Sharpsburg, Pa./Aquinas Academy) 22:51.1
75. Megan Ickes (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) 22:58.0
86. Elissa Scheel (Medina, Ohio/Highland) 23:14.0
116. Tayor Friello 24:01.1
120. Jessica McCracken (Limestone, Pa./Clarion-Limestone Area) 24:08.5
137. Brooke Wissinger (Fombell, Pa./Riverside) 24:54.3