Mercyhurst junior Emily Francis crossed the finish line first for the Lakers in the 2013 PSAC Championship while earning 76 points for the team on Oct. 26.

Since becoming a Laker, she has worked hard to finish first for the team in every race she has competed in thus far.

On Saturday she ran the 6K event with a time of 24:52.0 and placed 81st overall.

Both the time and place are respected among athletes.

Following close behind Francis was senior Rebecca Wheeling who finished 101st overall, earned 89 team points, and completed the course with a time of 25:18.7.

Other top times for the ladies were junior Sara Chuzie with 104th, junior Hillary Sullivan with 125th, and senior Mary Mancuso with 134th.

“The three top girls were: Emily Francis, Becca Wheeling, and Sara Chuzie. All three finished within a few seconds of each other, keeping a great pack and resulting in solid 6K times,” junior Sara Chuzie said.

As a sophomore, Francis made several top five places overall against other great competitors.

This was coming off of a hot start in her freshman year where she won a race at Fredonia and beat the course record with a time of 19:49.

“Individually everyone has done very well, all running personal bests and smashing race times from last year!.The team has suffered some hard hits with injury, but the remaining girls pulled together to finish out strong,” Chuzie said.

The top team to win the PSAC Championship title was Mansfield who earned a team total of 65 points.

Right behind them in second place was Edinboro who collected 77 points as a team. Shippensburg, Indiana (Pa.), and Seton Hill were able to complete the top five finishers.

“We didn’t have any freshman girls. The boys have done a great job adjusting, Jake Enix was actually just named athlete of the week and gained the honor of being the second freshman to finish the PSAC race,” Chuzie said.

The team looks to do well when they travel to Lock Haven on Nov. 9 for the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships.

It should be great to see how the Lakers compete at this important race.