BETHANY, W.Va. – IUP senior
Dan Gibney earned his first collegiate cross country victory and the Crimson Hawks finished third in the team standings at the 2024 West Liberty Invitational.
IUP had a pair of top-10 individual finishes in the 2024 season opener, held at the Bethany Cross Country Course on Thursday. The 6K race had 11 schools (nine teams) and 100 competitors.
Gibney continues a decorated distance career for the Crimson Hawks with a first-place time of 18:46.
In the team standings, WV Wesleyan notched first overall behind four top-20 finishers. West Liberty followed in second before IUP. The Crimson Hawks notched first among Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) competition.
Joel Beckwith posted eighth overall in 19:26, while
Nate Kociela (18th; 20:03) and
Ian Rauber (22nd; 20:08) followed in their IUP cross country debuts.
"We needed to get that first race out of the way," IUP head coach
Joey Zins said. "There were a number of very good individual performances, but we continue looking to improve team-wise, beginning next week at Robert Morris."
A trio of juniors occupied the four, five and six spots in the IUP lineup with
Lucas Pajak (20:28),
Tom Brady (20:38) and
Dominick Ditoro (20:42) among the top six.
"It was good to get back out there in a competitive environment to see where we can improve," Zins continued.
Up Next
IUP is back on the course next weekend for the RMU Colonial Invitational, set for Saturday, September 14 at 9 a.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPathletics.com and follow IUP track & field on X (Twitter) @IUPTrackXC.
IUP Results | WLU Invitational
1.
Dan Gibney (18:46)
8.
Joel Beckwith (19:26)
18.
Nate Kociela (20:03)
22.
Ian Rauber (20:08)
30.
Lucas Pajak (20:28)
36.
Tom Brady (20:38)
39.
Dominick Ditoro (20:42)
41.
Brendon Ward (20:45)
45,
Marco Cardone (20:53)
46.
Parker Bradley (20:55)
48.
Erik Moyer (21:07)
49.
Sam Moffat (21:07)
54.
Gabriel Pacyna (21:09)
56.
Dillon Green (21:15)
61.
Nate Kuntz (21:21)
70.
Jason Clifford (21:56)
73.
Ethan Ribelin (22:05)
74.
Philip Pegher (22:16)
