WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College Cross Country teams competed in the conference's first version of a preview meet to showcase some of the top Presidents' Athletic Conference runners.
 
The W&J men finished fourth of eight while the W&J women took fifth of nine.
 
For the men, Dominic Flitcraft (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) led the way for the Presidents with a third-place finish. He logged a time of 26:38.7 to finish eight seconds away from each of the top two finishers. Brock Pennington (North East, Pa./North East) followed quickly behind, finishing fifth with a time of 26:51.3. A fellow senior in Julian Paul (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) recorded an eighth-place finishing mark, racing to a time of 27:12.8.
 
Rounding out the top men's finishers were sophomores Shaun Walker (Washington, Pa./Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter) and Collin Helmick (Salem, Ohio/Salem). Walker finished 34^th with a time of 28:55.8 while Helmick took 38^th to a mark of 29:13.5.
 
For the women, Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown) headed the Presidents efforts in her first appearance on the course this season. Anderson finished as the runner up in second with a time of 23:21.6. Genevieve Ruth (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville Broadview Heights) took a 25^th-place finish as the Presidents second-best runner who paced her way to a time of 26:10.2.
 
Junior Maria Gilles (North Ridgeville, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy) finished 31^st with a time of 26:26.3 followed by fellow junior Chloe LoCastro (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) who took 35^th with a mark of 26:41.9. Rounding out the Presidents top five was freshman Tessa Hayes (Derry, Pa./Derry) who finished 42^nd with a time of 27:18.3.
 
W&J return after a week-long break from the course on Saturday (Sept. 21) as they look to square off at the Allegheny Classic.