(Posted October 7, 2006)

CARLISLE, Pa. - The Juniata College men\'s and women\'s cross country teams faced off against many of its MAC-rivals Saturday and fared quite well at the Dickinson College Long/Short Invitational in Carlisle. The race includes a 4,000 and 6,000-kilometer race for the women and a 4,000 and 8,100-kilometer race for the men, with the top three runners in each race earning points for the overall team score. The Juniata women placed sixth in the meet out of 11 complete teams, while the men\'s side did not register a team score as the entire team ran the 4,000-kilometer race. WOMENâ??S Juniata\'s women\'s team scored 69 points in the 4,000 and 128 in the 6,000 for its combined total of 197 which earned the Eagles sixth place. In the 4,000 competing in her first meet of the season, Elena Amato (Notre Dame Prep./Baltimore, Md.) was Juniata\'s top runner as she posted a time of 15:42.63 which was good for 10th place. Meghan Jones (Meadville/Meadville) was the next Juniata runner across the line as she was 26th with a time of 16:10.36. The third-place runner for the Eagles in the shorter race was Kristen Gochnauer (Warwick/Lititz) who ran a time of 16:24.76 which was good for 34th place. In the thee 6,000 Aubrey Cyphert (Seneca/North East) and Lia Bella (Morris Catholic/Rockaway, N.J.) finished right with each other as Cyphert was 45th and Bella was 46th. Cyphert ran a time of 24:53.55 while Bella was right behind her with a mark of 24:53.85. Rounding out the scoring in the longer race was Lauren Gates (Bishop Guilfoyle/Altoona) who placed 63rd with a time of 25:28.11. MENâ??S Juniata\'s men\'s team all competed in the shorter of the two races, though Juniata\'s 72 points among its top five runners in the 4,000 was good for sixth place among the 20 teams that had runners in the event. Pacing the group was Matthew Bailey (Hempfield/East Petersburg) who ran home in a time of 12:55.14 which was good for a 24th-place finish. Nipping right at his heels was teammate Shawn Rumery (Thornton Academy/Daytone, Maine) who was one spot back in 25th place, and finished just a few seconds behind his teammate as he ran a time of 12:58.41. Eric Hoover (Brandywine/Wilmington, Del.) was Juniata\'s third runner across the line as he placed 29th, posting a time of 13:02.36. Mike Chirdon (Riverview/Verona) produced the fourth finish for the Blue and Gold as his time of 13:19.10 helped him place 43rd in the event. Rounding out the top-five scoring places for Juniata in the 4,000 was Jason Hoover (Brandywine/Wilmington, Del.) who posted a time of 13:36.74 which earned him a 70th-place finish. Juniata will get a preview of the MAC Championship next week when the Eagles run at the DeSales Invitational. ###

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