THE MEET FACTS

• Event: NCAA Atlantic Regional XC Meet

• Location: Lock Haven, PA

• Date: Nov 8th, 2025

• Format: 6000m

LOCK HAVEN, PA– To nationals she goes! Sophomore Emily Bowers (Silver Creek, N.Y./Silver Creek) led the Golden Knights with a second place finish at the 2025 NCAA Atlantic Regional championship Saturday in Lock Haven. She qualifies for NCAA championships in Kenosha, WI. She is the first female cross country athlete in program history to advance to the national stage. Gannon finished 12th as a team.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - 12th/23 Teams
Emily Bowers (Silver Creek, N.Y./Silver Creek) -  2nd - 21:22.5 (NATIONAL QUALIFIER) (ALL-ATLANTIC REGIONAL PERFORMER)
Alexis Abbett (Sharpsburg, Pa./Aquinas Academy)  - 17th - 22:00.0 (ALL-ATLANTIC REGIONAL PERFORMER)
Megan Ickes (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) - 34th - 22:27.8
Anna Rakvic (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) - 121st - 24:40.9
Makayla McLister (Butler, Pa./Butler Area) - 123rd - 24:48.9
Julia Jackson (Rochester, NY/Webster Thomas) - 130th -25:01.9
Jessica McCracken (Limestone, Pa./Clarion-Limestone Area) - 152nd - 27:03.4

FROM THE COACH
Rob Ahrens: "Our top three runners were tremendous. All collected a PR, so this race were big steps for for them. We saw Emily execute the race plan as we had hoped. A couple times that she ran by me, she was smiling the entire time, and you could tell she was confident. She gave first place a scare, and I think if she can bring that confidence into Nationals in a couple weeks, she'll be incredibly successful. We're really excited to have had the opportunity to compete today."

THE KNIGHT CAP

• Nationals Bound!: Emily Bowers (Silver Creek, N.Y./Silver Creek) continues her streak of impressive success. After an individual PSAC Championship win two weeks ago, the sophomore led the Golden Knights with a second place finish to qualify for NCAA Championships in Kenosha, WI. She was half a second off the top spot. 

• All-Region: Alexis Abbett (Sharpsburg, Pa./Aquinas Academy) put an accolade next to her name as well. The Sharpsville product clocked a time of 22:00.0 flat, securing an all-Atlantic Region performance. The mark is a PR for the sophomore.

• Top 40 Impact: Megan Ickes (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) also picked up a PR in her final race of the season. Ickes placed 34th with a time of 22:27.80 in a field of 100 runners. 
  
  UP NEXT
  Bowers will compete in the NCAA DII National Championships in Kenosha, WI on Saturday, Nov. 22nd.
  
  This story was written using the support of AI.