LEBANON, Pa. – The Gallaudet University women's cross country team placed seventh at the 2026 United East Conference Championship on Saturday at Union Canal Tunnel Park. Five Bison completed the 6-kilometer course as Gallaudet recorded 169 points in the conference championship meet.
Cedar Crest College senior Ryley Schwalm won the individual championship with a conference championship record time of 22 minutes, 11 seconds. Schwalm finished more than a minute ahead of runner-up Ella Mitchell from St. Mary's College of Maryland (23:19).
Gallaudet's top finisher was first year
Hannah Alford (Reidsville, N.C.), who placed 31st overall out of 68 runners with a time of 30:00. While the Bison previously competed on the same course at the Dutchmen Invitational on Sept. 5, Saturday marked Alford's first race at Union Canal Tunnel Park.
The Bison had two runners finish back-to-back as first year
Natalie Greene (Houston, Texas) placed 37th overall in 31:21, followed closely by sophomore
Jala Furdge (Brandon, Miss.) in 38th place with a time of 31:25.
First year
Xue Atwood (Twin Falls, Idaho) was the fourth Bison to complete the course as she finished 43rd overall in 31:46. First year
Dev Sklar (Brooklyn, N.Y.) rounded out Gallaudet's scoring five with a 54th-place finish in 35:40.
St. Mary's College of Maryland captured its sixth consecutive United East women's cross country championship with 62 points, narrowly edging Cedar Crest (63) by one point. Penn State Harrisburg finished third with 83 points. Gallaudet placed seventh out of nine scoring teams with 169 points, ahead of Penn St.-Abington (180) and Penn St.-Brandywine (236).
Schwalm was named the United East Runner of the Year after her record-setting championship performance. Penn St.-Berks freshman Madelyn Holbrook earned Rookie of the Year honors after finishing fifth overall in 24:03 as the top first-year runner in the field. St. Mary's (Md.) head coach Reava Potter was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Seahawks to their sixth straight conference title.
UP NEXT
Gallaudet is slated to travel to Earlysville, Va., for the NCAA Division III South Region Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Panorama Farms. The meet's start time has yet to be announced.
