Men's Cross Country Wins Seventh Straight AMCC Championship

ANGOLA, Ny. – Dylan Buffington (Brookville, PA/Brookville) led the Penn State men's cross country team to their seventh straight and 11^th overall Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship Saturday at Evangola State Park.

As depth has been a key to success for the squad all year, today was no different. Nine of the Lions' runners finished in the top 15 awarding them All-Conference honors and helping Behrend earn a score of 26.

Buffington finished with a time of 26:43 which was good enough for second-place overall, only behind Franciscan freshman Liam Galligan. Despite finishing second, Buffington's time was good enough for the sixth best time in AMCC Championship history.

Finishing just behind Buffington among Behrend's runners was freshman Zach Wortman (St. Mary's, PA/Elk County Catholic) and Ian Griffith (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional). Wortman crossed the line just 10 seconds behind Buffington, while Griffith finished the race with a time of 27:13, capturing third and fourth place, respectively. All three ran side-by-side throughout the race and pushed each other to capture the AMCC title.

Chris Drozynski (Stoneboro, PA/Lakeview) and Alex Kubala (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) crossed the line just three second after apart to close out the Lions' top five runners. Drozynski finished with a final time of 27:47 while Kubala ended at 27:50, earning eighth and ninth place overall.

Along with those five runners, Jarrod Lipsey (Kersey, PA/St. Mary's Area) Jake Lehotsky (Erie, PA/Fort LeBoeuf), Timothy Wheeler (Albion, PA/ Northwestern), as well as Michael Cross (Fairview, PA/Fairview) finished in the top 15 to qualify themselves for the All-Conference team. Lipsey finished in 11^th, Lehotsky at 12^th, Wheeler in 14^th, and Cross ended at 15^th.

Next up for Behrend are the NCAA Regionals on November 11. They will be held in Carlisle, PA.