ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley cross country teams will compete for Middle Atlantic Conference titles on Saturday as the Dutchmen head to Stevenson University for the conference championship meet. The women's championship race is scheduled for 11 a.m., with the men's championship race to follow at 12 p.m.
 
Admission to the 2026 MAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships is free.
 
Directions, parking, and course maps are available at the championship central page.
 
The women's team is expected to be among the top teams after winning the program's first conference title a year ago. "I like what we've been building so far this fall," stated Head Coach James O'Brien. "In my opinion, we will be in a really close battle for third and could finish anywhere from third to sixth depending on the day.  York has beaten us head-to-head two times now and it's going to take a near perfect day for us to beat them.  With this being a group with virtually all of our athletes stepping into new roles this fall, I am anxious to see how they respond to this opportunity."
 
Charlee Kurtz is LVC's top returner from last year's Championship team and was the top finisher for the Dutchmen in the last race at Gettysburg. The senior finished 21st at last year's meet and has a top 6,000-meter time of 23:42.7 this fall. Jocelyn Saultz was second for the Dutchmen at Gettysburg and is having a great rookie season with a top time of 23:47.5. Caroline Borleis was 44th at last year's Championship and the senior is coming off a career-best time of 24:28.5 at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational. Junior Christine Wagner is also coming off a career-best time of 24:29.8 and finished 93rd last fall. Nina Milosevic finished 83rd at last year's meet and comes into the championship with a season-best time of 24:21.9 that she ran at Lock Haven. Lila Parry is coming off a season-best time of 25:31.0 at Gettysburg and is looking to help the Dutchmen in her first conference championship race. Grace Buerke is also coming off a career-best time of 26:55.1 at Gettysburg. The sophomore will be competing at the conference meet for the first time in her career. Ciara Millan is running in her first conference meet and enters the weekend with a season-best time of 31:53.8 at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational.
 
The men's team is looking to win the program's third consecutive conference title and enters the weekend ranked 30th in the nation by the USTFCCCA and 31st by D3 Glory Days. "I feel confident about this group," O'Brien had to say about the men. "We have a great mix of experienced upperclassmen who have put in the work for years, along with newcomers who will be soaking up their first championship experience.  Both Messiah and DeSales have incredibly strong programs, and we know they'd love nothing more than to upend our potential three-peat.  We are excited for the opportunity to line up, compete, and show that we are capable."
 
Rory Lieberman is expected to be near the front of the field as he goes for his third consecutive individual title. The senior is coming off a school-record 8,000-meter time of 24:11.7 at the Connecticut College Invitational two weeks ago. He was joined at that meet by Andrew Namatka, Wyatt Leitzel, Lukas Walko, Dylan Lenhart, Dylan Miller, and Liam Allen. Namatka also had a career-best time at the meet, crossing the line in 24:50.9. Last year, he finished 12th at the MAC Championships. Leitzel ran a career-best time of 25:25.6 at Lock Haven last month and finished 14th at the conference meet last fall. Walko finished 10th last year and is coming off his fastest time of the fall of 25:41.4 at the Connecticut meet. Lenhart is coming off a career-best time of 25:46.9 and is looking to improve on his 21st-place finish last year. Dylan Miller is also coming off a career-best time of 26:54.9 and is looking to make waves in his first MAC Championship race. Allen finished 45th at last year's meet and ran a career-best time of 26:20.5 at Lock Haven this fall.
 
The Dutchmen also have Donnie Miller, Caden Bell, Ben Graybeal, Cooper Allred, Logan Koehn, and Josh Miller entered to run on Saturday. Donnie Miller has only run twice this year but ran a strong time of 26:44.3 at the Dutchmen Invitational. He finished 29th at the 2024 MAC Championships. Bell is having a strong year with a top time of 27:24.2 at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational. He is running in his first conference championship race. Graybeal is also running in his first conference meet and is coming off a career-best time of 27:53.6 at the Last Chance Run Fast Invitational last week. Allred is having a great rookie season with a season-best time of 27:45.9 at Gettysburg. Koehn is also having a strong first season and is coming off a season-best 27:26.9 at Gettysburg. Josh Miller is another first-year having a great season and ran a season-best time of 26:49.4 at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational.

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