Cresson, PA - Under Head Men's and Women's Coach Marilyn Gregory, the Mount Aloysius men's and women's cross country teams are focused on improving their place in the conference standings and at the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championships this fall.

The women's side, which has finished as high as fourth in the conference under the coaching of Gregory, placed eighth in 2013. The team consists of returning runners Bridgit Yothers and Alexis Dona as well as six new runners. Gregory believes the freshmen duo of Lauren Shrader and Cynthia Santoyo will be the Mounties top runners. Schrader was a state qualifier in high school. Emily Lewis and Amber Koegler should also be in the top five for Mount Aloysius, while Gina Hanik and Alexandra Woods are working hard to see who will be a part of the Mount's top seven.

The men's team, which finished in seventh place in the AMCC in 2013, is also looking to improve throughout the season in order to peak at the championships on November 1st at Franciscan University. Team captain Nick Frank returns to lead the Mounties, and Gregory will also rely on returning runners Tim Kestermont and Brian Mesteller. Frank and Kestermont will battle it out to be the Mount's top runner. Freshman Bailey Smith and Keith Lenhard are also runners to look out for in 2014. Lenhard has a unique story in that he was enlisted in the Navy for 12 years and has previously run in a few marathons before joining the team this August.

The Mounties first competition for both the men and the women will be on August 30th at Westmoreland County Community College.