IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata University's men's and women's cross country teams are ready to compete in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championships this Saturday, Nov. 2, at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia. The women's race will lead off the events at 12:30 p.m., and the men's race will follow at 1:30 p.m.
 
Last year, Immaculata's men's team placed fifth overall, while Angel Chimal Rodriguez finished 11th to earn him Second Team All-CSAC. Immaculata's Stash Grab just missed earning all-conference with a 15th-place finish in 2012, and the senior looks to earn all-league citations this season.
 
The Mighty Macs' women's squad took eighth at last year's championship, and they return their top two runners in Caroline Tarlo, who finished 31st, and Angela Mastriana, who placed 36th overall.
 
The Mighty Macs have been preparing for the last two months for the conference championship, competing in five different races along the way to see how they will stack up against the CSAC competition. Immaculata's men's team is led by a group of five seniors, who hope to leave Immaculata with the team's best finish in a conference championship, while the women's squad has plenty of new faces this season looking to charge the Mighty Macs into the top of the CSAC pack.
 
"This year, we have been able to run against all of the CSAC schools except Marywood and Gywnedd Mercy," head coach Alex Proctor said. "Overall, both the men's and women's teams have fared well against conference competition."
 
On the men's side, Immaculata has competed during the season with Keystone and Cairn for placing at four of its five races, and it should shape up to be another challenge between the three squads on Saturday.
 
"The men's team is right where I was thinking they would be," noted Proctor. "But to be honest, this group always has the ability to surprise me.  With as well as Dustin Gramig and Will Martin are running right now, I think the race could come down to a few points for the top four spots."
 
Rodriguez, who has been the Mighty Macs' top finisher at every meet this season, also with Grab and senior Stu Rial will all need to turn in top performances as the Mighty Macs look to break into the top three in the standings.
 
"I am expecting Angel to finish within the top eight," Proctor said. "He really has been working hard this year and has grown a lot as a competitor.  In addition it is Stash and Stu's last CSAC race, and if both of them perform, we have a real shot of a high team finish."
 
Gwynedd Mercy, who was the men's preseason favorite, is searching for its sixth-straight conference title.
 
The Mighty Mac women have been competitive against its CSAC competition all season, and they have placed ahead of several teams at four of their five meets. Immaculata has placed higher than Neumann, Baptist Bible, Cabrini, Cedar Crest and Rosemont so far this season.
 
"The women have been a great surprise this year," commented Proctor. "With the senior leadership of Angela and Paige Eyler, and new comers like Christiana Donofry, Emily Lowe, and Diana Cusick, this team really has put themselves in a great position to place high."
 
A large part of the Mighty Macs' success is freshman Cusick, who has paced Immaculata in all five races. Cusick has even placed in the top 10 four times.
 
"Diana has a good chance of reaching First or Second Team All-CSAC," Proctor said. "She is just one of those tough runners that will do anything she can to try and put herself in the position to place high." 
 
Marywood's women's cross country team is looking to win its fourth-straight CSAC championship in 2013.
 
Following the conference championship, Immaculata will take a week off before competing in the NCAA Mideast Regional, which is being hosted by Muhlenberg.