For the third-straight season, the Waynesburg University women’s cross country team stands alone on top of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC).

Grove City, which had won 27-straight PAC titles prior to Waynesburg’s current run, battled valiantly in the race, but came up just shy as the Yellow Jackets edged the Wolverines by three points, 44-47.

For the first time since 2010, the Yellow Jackets hosted the championship, consisting of eight teams, at the Greene County Airport. Head coach Chris Hardie was ecstatic with the performance of the team.

“It was very fun to watch if you were a spectator,” said Hardie. “But as a coach, seeing the team finish strong, I was very impressed with their grit and determination.”

The Jackets were led by first-year standouts Aubrey Wingeart and Gloria Reed, who placed third and fourth, respectively, with times of 24:20 and 24:21. Those marks earned them first-team All-PAC honors.

Simonton and sophomores Nicole Shelton and Rebecca Volz each placed top 14 overall in the event. To round out the top seven for the Yellow Jackets, sophomore Gianna Pugliano placed 16th and freshman Monica Kolencik placed 28th.

Being the defending champs can put a lot of pressure on a team, according to Hardie. Even with this added pressure, the Yellow Jackets were able to come out on top.

“After winning your first championship, it gets harder to repeat again,” said Hardie. “As defending champs, you have a target on your back and everyone is going after you.”

Having a young team, Hardie believes senior leadership played a significant role in the Yellow Jackets’ success.

“The senior leadership has been great all year,” said Hardie. “Teghan and Liz [Trump] were really calming influences on race day, which was very important.”

The rainy and cold conditions did not stop the Yellow Jackets from defending the title either.

“We have run in colder and muddier courses,” said Simonton. “But the airport is something else, there is no drainage for the water and it rained the previous two days. Everybody was running on the same course.”

Simonton and Trump are the only seniors on the women’s team and the two were part of the previous teams that won the PAC title. With the expectation of success, the veteran runners felt the pressure to perform.

“Since it’s my senior year it gives more responsibility for everything,” said Simonton. “You do not want to be the class that loses the streak.”

Although Simonton was not Waynesburg’s top performer, she still led the team with her experience.

“We made a point to lead spiritually with them and to prepare them,” said Simonton. “Since we do have a large freshman class — they have never experienced a PAC championship, so they might not know the meaning behind this race.”

Simonton made sure to reassure her younger teammates that this race shouldn’t be looked at any differently than previous races to ease their minds.

“Some people just need to be reminded that it’s just another race,” said Simonton. “We have done the training for it but some people get stuck in their heads and stress out.”

With the PAC Championship being Simonton’s last PAC race, she is excited for what the underclassmen can do in years to come.

“The feeling is very surreal, and I am very proud of the team’s accomplishments,” she said. “We set up a good team for the future because of the young talent we have.”

The Yellow Jackets will not compete again until Nov. 11 at Center Valley for the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional meet.