BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Eight of the Patriot League's 10 women's cross-country teams kick off their seasons this weekend, with Army West Point and Lehigh set to compete on Friday, Aug. 30.

American, Boston University, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, and Navy open their respective seasons in races across the Northeast on Saturday, Aug. 31. Lafayette and Loyola Maryland returns to action on Friday, Sept. 6.

Ten of the 14 All-Patriot League runners from the 2023 League championship meet return, including 2023 individual women’s champion and Rookie of the Meet, Hannah Prosser (20:37.5) of Boston University. Army West Point returns four of the five runners from the First-Team All-Patriot League group that helped the Black Knights earn the 2023 title; their first since 2004.

AMERICAN EAGLES
Head Coach: Sean Graham (8th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/6
All-League Returners: None
Although Graham's Eagles' do not have an All-League returner, the team does bring back top runner June Mwaniki. The group managed a seventh-place finish last season, and they will look to improve across the board as they attempt to climb the rankings in 2024.

Head Coach Sean Graham on the Eagles…
“On the women’s side we’ll look to be led one more time by our senior distance ace June Mwaniki.  She’ll be supported in great fashion by a very strong rising Junior and senior classes that, similar to the men, have developed very well since their freshman years and are hungry to push forward in their performances on the grass.  Estella Miller, Kirah Tianga and Luci Ianello were our top performers after June, along with a very strong pack of now juniors vying for low-scoring positions this fall. Along with them, we’re welcoming a great group of freshman women that we hope to stir things up with that group right away!”
 
ARMY WEST POINT BLACK KNIGHTS
Head Coach: Mike Smith (11th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/1
All-League Returners: Charlotte Richman (2023 – First Team); Claire Lewis (2023 – First Team); Joanna Halfhill (2023 – First Team); Louisa Diamond (2023 – First Team); Mikayla Cheney (2023 – Second Team); Laurynn Sisneros (2023 – Second Team)
  
In 2023, Smith and the Black Knights captured their first Patriot League championship since 2004. The group placed seven runners in the top 14 of the League championship, and six of those runners return in 2024. They will receive strong competition across the League, but Army is poised to be in a position to defend their title.
  
 Head Coach Mike Smith on the Black Knights…
"Looking towards the 2024 season, our cross-country schedule is similar to what it has been in the past. We typically open the season with a small dual meet with the University of Maine. This meet is where we get to see how our younger athletes look. The Iona Meet of Champions follows this race with a similar format – an opportunity for everyone to compete. So, by the time we get to October, everyone has had a chance to prove themselves. Our championship season begins mid-October against Navy, followed by the Patriot League championship and then the NCAA postseason. We have a very, very strong team. We won the conference meet last year and return our top six from that competition. So, I would expect that that will be very competitive again, but other teams also have a say in the final outcome. I would not expect and do not feel that we are entitled to anything when we look ahead to the 2024 cross country season. However, we expect to compete for a top-level finish at the conference championship and we will work to get it done on that day. The people that we have are capable. They were successful a year ago and can be successful again. Our 2024 team is led by our team captain, Joanna Halfhill who placed sixth last year and is a seasoned cross country veteran. We return five women who placed in the top 10 a year ago, including Charlotte Richman, Claire Lewis, Louisa Diamond, and Mikayla Cheney. We will add some talented freshmen and other returners to the mix. We have talent, experience and depth, but in order to get it done, we need to perform when it counts. 2024 is a different year. We are not entitled to anything – a mantra we will start the year with. We have not earned anything yet. We start on day one fresh, just like everyone else now we have to go select ourselves for success. In sum, we are excited about our prospects, we are excited about the group that we have, and we are hopeful that we can stay healthy and perform at a very high level."
 
BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country: Grant Cartwright (1st season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 22/4
All-League Returners: Hannah Prosser (2023 – Individual Champion, Rookie of the Meet, First Team); Vera Sjöberg (2023 – First Team); Adrienne Buettner-Cable (2023 – Second Team); Kelly Jones (2023 – Second Team); Abby Waddington (2023 – Second Team)

2023 Individual Champion and Rookie of the Meet honoree Hannah Prosser will lead an experienced BU group that took home a second-place finish at the 2023 Patriot League Women’s Cross Country Championship. Prosser is joined by top runners Daisy Liljegren and Vera Sjöberg who make the Terriers a team to watch in 2024.

Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Grant Cartwright on the Terriers…
“Our women’s team has grown as a group in the last few years. We are looking forward to getting better as a group every day and taking steps to work towards our program goals.”

BUCKNELL BISON
Head Coach: Kevin Donner (24th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 25/8

Coming off a fourth-place finish, Donner and the Bison will turn to a veteran group that returns several of their top runners, led by 2022 All-Patriot League Second Teamer Keely Misutka. They will lean on the experience they have gained from the past few seasons as they look to climb into the top-three at this year's Championship.

Head Coach Kevin Donner on the Bison…
"This team is ready to take their running to the next level. It is a great combination of upperclassmen who have developed as distance runners along with some very talented underclassmen who are ready to step things up. We have a group of seniors who have battled health issues over their first three years, but when healthy, they are very good distance runners.  All seem healthy right now and we cannot wait to get the season started.”

COLGATE RAIDERS
Head Coach: Chelsea France (2nd season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/1

France begins her second campaign at Colgate after the group turned in an eighth-place finish in 2023. The group returns the majority of its roster, including top performer Kara Shepard, as they aim to continue to climb the standings in 2024.

Head Coach Chelsea France on the Raiders …
"We have a lot of new faces on our women’s team who we anticipate making a major impact on our season. All of them have put in some great work this summer and are ready when their name is called to contribute to our team standings. I anticipate our scoring five to change quite a bit this season for the level of depth we have acquired. Looking forward to what’s to come and working with this great group of women."

HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS
Head Coach: Stephanie Reilly (3rd season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/3

Reilly and the Crusaders look to build on a 10th-place finish a season ago. The squad returns top finishers and team captains, Abby Hughes and Caroline Gage, and will lean on their experience in 2024.
 
Head Coach Stephanie Reilly on the Crusaders…
"The women's cross country team returns our two senior co-captains Caroline Gage and Abby Hughes. I anticipate Hughes, who is coming off the best spring track season of her career, and all of our returners to continue to contribute in a big way. In addition, I expect our incoming talented group of first-year students to add depth to our squad and we are excited to continue to move up the rankings "

LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS
Head Coach: Michele Curcio (12th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/3

Curcio and the Leopards jumped up the rankings to a sixth-place finish in 2023. Several experienced runners return, including their top finisher, as Lafayette looks to climb even higher when they host the Patriot League Championship in Easton, Pa. this fall.
 
Head Coach Michele Curcio on the Leopards…
"At last year’s Championships, the women put together a very solid meet. Junior Elizabeth Borah was our top runner last season finishing 23rd at the Championship meet. We expect her to be our top runner once again. We return three of our next four finishers; senior Casey MacElhiney, junior Kira Marr, and sophomore Ava Severino. This group plus a healthier Maura Timoney should form a solid top-five. Our first-year group is bigger and we hope that one or two will emerge to help push the two through five runners.”

LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Head Coach: Debbie Utesch (28th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/5

Debbie Utesch’s squad looks to build upon a fifth-place finish in 2023. The Mountain Hawks return three key runners -- Lucy Afanasewicz, Maddison Hayes and Savanah Beavers -- each of whom paced Lehigh throughout last season. They are optimistic that the continued development of that group, along with some newcomers, can help propel them further up the League rankings.

Head Coach Debbie Utesch on the Mountain Hawks…
"There will be a lot of new faces in the Lehigh XC lineup this fall. Lehigh will be led by some seasoned veterans who had solid performances in 2023. Lucy Afansewicz moved up on the Top 10 list of All-Time Lehigh runners on the Goodman Campus course. Savanah Beavers, Maddison Hayes and Elisa Brear are looking to build off of strong track and field campaigns. But the underclassmen will have an opportunity to make some immediate impact this fall. It will be exciting to watch these diverse personalities step into new roles and become a competitive squad.”

LOYOLA MARYLAND GREYHOUNDS
Head Coach: Amy Horst (9th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/2

The Greyhounds finished ninth at the Patriot League Women’s Cross Country Championship last season, but the roster returns several of their top runners, including top finishers Isabella Coleman and Norah Affanato. Coach Horst and the rest of the team will look to rebound in 2024.

Head Coach Amy Horst on the Greyhounds…
“We have a dynamic group of women who are well positioned to show their growth as a team and cross country athletes this fall. The strengths that they each have are unique and coming off of many personal bests this past outdoor track and field season, they are stronger and ready to bring our incoming class into the fold of a budding competitive spirit and drive.!”

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN
Head Coach: Kim Lewnes (6th season)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/5
All-League Returners: Sophie Compton (2022 – Second Team); Mia-Claire Kezal (2022 – Second Team)

The Midshipmen earned a third-place finish in 2023 after back-to-back titles in the season prior. Sophie Compton and Mia-Claire Kezal return with a number of new faces for Navy as they look to push for another championship in 2024.
 
Head Coach Kim Lewnes on the Midshipmen…
"We graduated an incredible senior class, so you will see some fresh faces joining Sophie Compton, Olivia Lutkevich, Mia-Claire Kezal, and Alex Wercinski in our top seven. I am impressed by the commitment our younger runners have made to their development. We are looking forward to an exciting cross country season and getting the women back to the top of the Patriot League in cross country. "
 
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2024 Patriot League Women’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Saturday, Nov. 2 in Easton, Pa. on the campus of Lafayette College.  

ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.