Mount won the Mule/Falcon Classic by more than a minute to help Muhlenberg women win the race for the third time in five years.

The Muhlenberg cross country teams completed another successful season. The women won a meet, took second in another and had a runner qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time. The men’s team had seven top-five finishes, including fourth at the Centennial Conference Championships.

The women finished fifth at the CC Championships, and while the Mules came in 11th of 42 teams at the NCAA Mideast Regional, senior Karen Mount took fourth of 293 runners to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. Mount, the highest-placing Mule ever at the NCAA Regionals, became the first member of the Mule women’s team to compete in the national championships, where she finished 127th of 213 runners.

Muhlenberg won its Mule/Falcon Classic by placing three runners in the top 10, including Mount, who won the race. Freshman Kathryn Niedzwiecki crossed the line fifth and sophomore Christy Goff came in ninth.

Senior Brian McElroy finished 23rd at the CC Championships with his second-best career time. Earlier in the season, at the Blue Jay Invitational, he had his highest placing (12th) on the same course.

Mount also captured a gold medal at the DeSales Invitational (out of 245 runners), where the Mules took fifth. Muhlenberg finished fifth at the Centennial Conference Championships, where, after Mount’s fourth-place finish, the next seven Mules to cross the line were freshmen and sophomores.

The men’s team had a consistent year, finishing in the top five in its first seven meets and eighth at the NCAA Mideast Regional. The Mules’ best finish came at the Blue Jay Invitational, where they took second of 15 teams. Junior Steve Rothwell finished fifth with junior Tim Seeley in ninth. Rothwell also had three other top-10 finishes. He was seventh at the Dickinson Invitational and 10th at the Lehigh Valley Championships and at the DeSales Invitational. Muhlenberg was fifth at Dickinson and DeSales and fourth at the Lehigh Valley Championships.

In fourth place, Muhlenberg captured its sixth straight top-four finish at the Centennial Conference Championships. Junior Lex Mercado and Rothwell came in 15th and 16th, respectively, followed by six more Mules in the top 40, helping the Mules finish just one point out of third. Muhlenberg was eighth of 40 teams at the NCAA Mideast Regional, tying its second-best finish ever. Mercado and Seeley were the top Muhlenberg runners in 47th and 52nd.