LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its women's cross country preseason coaches poll on Wednesday afternoon. West Chester was picked to finish seventh at the PSAC Championships in 2025.
Slippery Rock was picked as the preseason favorite once again with 10 first-place votes followed by East Stroudsburg with six and Shippensburg with one. Kutztown and Bloomsburg rounded out the top five while Millersville, West Chester, Edinboro, Lock Haven, and Gannon comprised the remainder of the top-10.
West Chester heads into 2025 with high expectations after a strong 2024 season, which included a seventh-place finish at the 2024 Championships at Kutztown, led by an eighth-place finish by
Kristina Tapia (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) in 22 minutes and 51.9 seconds. Tapia's eighth-place finish was the best by a Golden Ram since Bella Marchini finished seventh in 2022.
Taylor Atkinson (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign, including a 31
st-place finish at the PSAC Championships in 23:40.50, narrowly missing out on All-PSAC honors.
West Chester will be plenty busy this fall season, beginning with the WCU Season Opener on September 5 for the first of nine meets this season. The PSAC Championships are set for October 25 at Edinboro.
