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IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata's men's and women's cross country teams are set for Saturday's Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship meet at ChesLen Preserve in Coatesville, Pa. The women will get under way at 11 a.m. with a 6k, and the men follow at noon in an 8k. 
 
Each team returns almost its entire roster of talented runners from last season, while the men's team has added key newcomers for the 2017 season, which has shown in the Mighty Macs' preparations leading up to the conference championship. Immaculata has competed in six different races along the way to see how they will stack up against the CSAC competition, with the women's team capturing four team titles.
 
The Mighty Macs' women's squad is coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2016 conference championship meet, just seven points out of second place. Immaculata returns its core from last year's team, including six runners who finished inside the Top 25 of the 2016 CSAC Championship. Jacki D'Amico was named Second Team All-CSAC with her 13th-place finish in a time of 22:48.2. Paula Barrett (23:29.8), Mackenzie Greene (23:30.2), and Celsey Golato (23:38.2) crossed in 18th, 19th and 20th, respectively. Emily Cardie came in 22nd with a clocking of 23:51.7, and Caitlin MacGregor was 25th as she finished the race in a time of 24:17.6.
 
The Mighty Mac women have been the top team at four of the six events this fall. Immaculata started the year winning the CSAC Preview Meet, which is a good indication of how the team could perform on Saturday. Barrett crossed the finish line in third place at the Preview with a time of 29:49. Cardie was fifth in 30:38, and Mary Ellen Grap followed with a time of 30:41 for sixth place. Karalyn Sitch placed ninth in 30:50, and Greene rounded out the Top 10 with a time of 30:53.
 
Immaculata has been competitive against CSAC competition all season with league challengers appearing in three of the six races this season. The Mighty Macs' toughest competition for the CSAC crown will come from Cedar Crest and Marywood, who are the only teams to place ahead of Immaculata at a race this season. Marywood is the reigning CSAC championship, and consistently produces a strong team. However, if the Mighty Macs have good performances and run like they have in previous meets, Immaculata has a real chance at bringing home a CSAC championship.
 
"Our women's team has always had potential to be a competitive force in the CSAC," head coach Dana Kershaw said. "This season, however, they have really pulled together as a team and have learned that although cross country appears to be an individual sport, at the heart of it, it's a team effort. They have learned how to run in pack and work together. That strong pack is what has led to their success. The success they have achieved thus far has helped them to be confident going into the championship this weekend and also very excited."
 
A piece of the Mighty Macs' success this year has been Barrett, who has paced Immaculata in five of the six races. Barrett has placed in the top 10 five events this season, including in the Top 3 at the CSAC Preview Meet and Running with the Wolves 5K. Barrett along with Cardie, D'Amico, Golato, Grap, Greene, MacGregor and Karalyn Sitch are a strong group capable for leading the Mighty to the top of the championship field.
 
On the men's side, Chase Bernier, Brendan Boothman, Nick Richardson, and Michael Wamsher are Immaculata's returning runners, and the Mighty Macs added two newcomers this fall, Matt Anzideo and Dominic Zengel. Last year, Immaculata's men's team placed ninth overall at the CSAC Championship. Richardson placed 47th with a time of 35:59.4, Boothman came in 58th with a clocking of 38:11.0, Wamsher was 59th in a time of 38:29.7, and Chase Bernier crossed the finish line in a time of 39:19.1 for 62nd place.
 
"My hope for the men's team is that they can each run a personal best this coming weekend at Cheslen," Kershaw said. "We have raced at Cheslen once this year during the preview meet. It is an incredibly challenging course, and my hope is that they will each run their best time on this demanding course."
 
Zengel has been a strong presence for the Mighty Macs this season, being the top finisher at every meet this season, including four finishes inside the Top 25. Zengel, who started the season with a 24th-place finish at the CSAC Preview Meet, had a strong showing at the Penn State-Brandywine Invitational in 18th place with a time of 30:54.7. Bernier has consistently been the Mighty Macs second runner to cross this season, having his best finish of 16th at the Runny with the Wolves 5K. Boothman is the only IU runner to not compete at the CSAC Preview Meet earlier this season, but has competed in the last five races coming in 34th at the Immaculata Invitational last week. Wamsher came in 34th at the Preview Meet with a time of 42:34.8, and has seen his times improve in every event since. Richardson had his best finish of the season at the Running with the Wolves 5K in 28th place.
 
Following the conference championship, Immaculata will take a week off before competing in the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday, November 11, which is being hosted by Dickinson College in Newville, Pa.