A solid pack-running performance for Mount St. Joseph Academy on Oct. 20 earned the Magic the 2026 cross country championship in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies (AACA). Defending league champion Gwynedd Mercy Academy had the individual winner and also took third place, but the Mount garnered second place and then had four other athletes finish fourth through seventh to lock in its winning team total.
Mount St. Joe ended up with 24 points to Gwynedd’s 34, while Merion Mercy Academy was third with 80 points. Villa Maria Academy was fourth with 123 points, ahead of Villa …
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A solid pack-running performance for Mount St. Joseph Academy on Oct. 20 earned the Magic the 2026 cross country championship in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies (AACA). Defending league champion Gwynedd Mercy Academy had the individual winner and also took third place, but the Mount garnered second place and then had four other athletes finish fourth through seventh to lock in its winning team total.
Mount St. Joe ended up with 24 points to Gwynedd’s 34, while Merion Mercy Academy was third with 80 points. Villa Maria Academy was fourth with 123 points, ahead of Villa Joseph Marie Academy, with 130. The smallest school in the league, Sacred Heart Academy, entered four runners in the meet, not enough for official team standing.
As usual, the AACA race was held at Bucks County’s Tyler State Park, near Newtown. In addition to its 2025 title, Gwynedd won the league title in 2022, while Mount St. Joseph was the winner in the 2018 through 2021 seasons, and again in 2023 and 2024.
Last week’s stretch of beautiful fall weather made for close to ideal conditions for the race. A sophomore runner for the Gwynedd Mercy Monarchs, Olivia Greeley, took the lead early and never let up, finishing all alone in 19 minutes, 52.60 seconds. About a mile into the race, a pack of runners behind Greeley consisted of most of the Mount team, along with GMA junior Ava Cleary.
After Greeley won the race, the next two runners who appeared along the finishing straight were Mount senior Charli Schoen and Gwynedd’s Cleary. At the end, Schoen held off the Monarch junior to take second place in 20:23.96 while Cleary came in third in 20:24.56.
Less than a minute later, the Mounties clinched the team championship. MSJ junior Emily Reichert arrived with a fourth-place time of 20:58.42, leading a parade of four Magic runners across the line. An instant after her came freshman Reagan Boucher (fifth; 20:58.43), followed by senior Annie Seminack (sixth; 21:08.78) and freshman Grace Sprandio (seventh; 21:15.32).
The Magic now had a final team score that could not be overcome by any rival schools. Gwynedd got eighth and ninth place from freshman Maeve Madden (21:23.52) and junior Kaeleigh Morris (21:26.12), and in 10th place was the first runner from Merion Mercy, freshman Maeve Flynn (21:43.32).
The other two Mount St. Joseph runners in the varsity race came next: sophomore Maggie Toner (11th; 21:45.32) and freshman Maura Kirsch (12th; 21:45.50).
With the AACA title back in their possession, and a strong team turnout this fall that included 20 freshmen, the Magic look to be in good shape going forward.
