With Gwynedd Mercy's cross country team rising to present a serious challenge this fall, Mount St. Joseph Academy didn't dominate the 2024 Catholic Academies championship meet the way it had in 2023.

Still, the Magic had enough talent and depth to get the job done last Tuesday, placing its five scorers among the top eight finishers and seeing all seven participants in the varsity race rank in the top 12.

Mount senior Katie Westmoreland won the meet at Bucks County's Tyler State Park in 19 minutes, 35.4 seconds, and the Magic topped the Monarchs of Gwynedd Mercy, 24-36. Gwynedd could claim the only other runner to finish in under 20 minutes, as junior Reese Miller snagged second place in 19:49.1.

The other league teams lagged far behind. Villa Maria Academy placed third with 102 points, followed by Villa Joseph Marie, with 110, Merion Mercy Academy, with 126, and Sacred Heart Academy, with 148.

The Mount won the championship in 2023, and Gwynedd won the year before. Before that, the Magic took four AACA titles in a row.

This year, Mount St. Joe's was truly dominant in the JV race that preceded the varsity event, snapping up the first seven places before any rival runners crossed the finish line. Charli Schoen, a sophomore who normally runs with the varsity but who is coming back from a stress fracture, won unchallenged in 21:10.7, a time which would have ranked her ninth in the varsity contest.

Schoen and her freshman sister Lexi (who ran with the Mount's varsity seven) are graduates of Norwood Fontbonne Academy.

The weather at Tyler last Tuesday was sunny and a bit cool, which was good for the runners. A little over half a mile into the varsity race there was still a lead pack of 10 athletes, but soon gaps developed.

Westmoreland wound up keeping a good pace without being pushed, winning over Gwynedd's Miller by a hair under 14 seconds. Cross country is actually not the Mount senior's primary sport; she'll be playing lacrosse at Gettysburg College.

Miller's junior classmate at Gwynedd, Molly O'Neill, was next into the finishing chute, securing third place in 20:01.1. The Magic reinforced their position by taking the next three spots, with sophomore Annie Seminack fourth (20:15.6), senior Mary Kate Martin fifth (20:23.3) and Lexi Schoen sixth (20:32.8).

After another Gwynedd junior, Anna Bagocius, captured seventh place in 20:43.7, MSJ freshman Emily Reichert locked in the Magic's winning team score as she finished eighth in 21:05.7. Junior Sarah Hock, who ran for Gwynedd as a freshman and then transferred to Mount St. Joseph, came in ninth in 21:14.0.

Rounding out the Mount varsity seven was senior Ava Brinkenhoff, who placed 12th overall in 21:59.5.

Next up for the Mount harriers is the PIAA District One championship meet, which will be held on October 25 at Lehigh University.