MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's cross country won its first Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship in program history. This marks the second PAC Championship team overall in school history in the sport of cross country at W&J.
 
A trio of runners led the W&J women's runners including Claire Anderson (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown), Maria Gilles (North Ridgeville, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy) and Chloe LoCastro (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township). All three runners finished the 2025 season with All-PAC First Team honors in succession.
 
Anderson paced her way to a fourth-place finish with a time of 23:06.40. Gilles raced her way to a fifth-place finish with a mark of 24:09.30. In the final stretch after the 3.6-mile mark, LoCastro trailed a runner from Geneva by milliseconds. In the final stretch, she managed to edge the Golden Tornado runner by 80 milliseconds to take sixth place with a time of 24:21.00.
 
Cali LaRue (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) was the next best finisher for the Presidents with a time of 25:28.40. Her 21^st place finish pushed her to an All-PAC Honorable Mention selection.
 
Genevieve Ruth (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville Broadview Heights) rounded out the top five finishers for W&J with a 23^rd place finish and time of 25:36.90.
 
Head Coach Andy Upton was also named the PAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
 
"I couldn't be happier for our ladies today. They have worked their butts off for this and have been stacking good days and good weeks all season," replied Upton. "To see them perform at this level during the biggest moment of the year was one of the most rewarding moments I've had as a coach. They are special people and I'm so glad to see them make this history today!"
 
The Presidents now set their sights on the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals hosted at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pa. on Saturday (Nov. 15). The race has a scheduled start time of 11:00 a.m.