Photo courtesy of BOWLING GREEN ATHLETICS Mifflin County product Kylee Cubbison completed a standout senior season at Bowling Green.

(Editor’s Note: This is the first of two stories about local cross country runners competing at the college level.)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Although Mifflin County High School product Kylee Cubbison fell short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships, it was still one of the strongest cross county seasons in memory for the Bowling Green Falcons.

On Nov. 14, the Falcon harriers capped their 2025 campaign at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals and delivered its best finish, individual finish and lowest point total since 1998.

A senior, Cubbison led the Bowling Green charge with a record-setting run, breaking the school 6K mark with a time of 20:24.05. Her 14th-place finish earned her All-Region honors and concluded a standout fall for the All-Mid-American Conference runner. The Falcons ended up with five runners inside the top 50.

Bowling Green placed sixth in the team standings, behind regional champion Notre Dame as well as Wisconsin, Toledo, Michigan State and Cincinnati.

Cubbison earned first-team All-MAC honors after a third-place finish at the MAC Championships with a 20:45.6.

Cubbison’s performance marked her third straight year of conference recognition, earning her first First Team selection after back-to-back Second Team seasons. Her MAC-meet performance contributed significantly to the Falcons’ lowest point total since 1998 and third place team finish.

Cubbison’s new personal best broke a fairly-new record, which she set on Oct. 3 at the Paul Short Run. That time was 20:26.4.

Her best outings this year:

On Sept. 13, Cubbison placed second at the Mel Brodt Collegiate Open in Bowling Green, Ohio, as she completed the 6k course in 21:18.9. That showing placed here second.

On Oct. 3, at the Paul Short Run at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Cubbison ended up 29th overall.

She also won the Falcon XV Invitational on Oct. 17 at Bowling Green, Ohio, with a 20:34.9.

As a team, the Falcons won their own invitational On Oct. 17 and placed third out of 13 teams at the MAC Championships. Cubbison finished third at the MACs in 20:45.6. Bowling Green’s 67 points were behind team champion Toledo (32) and Ohio (62);

Pair of Huskies at Juniata College

Former Mifflin County High School standouts Conrad “CJ” Coffey and Justice Sheaffer each concluded their junior seasons of running cross country at Juniata College.

Coffey opened the year by placing 43rd in 21:48.00 at the Father Bede Invitational, hosted by Saint Francis, on Aug. 30. The Eagles took fifth, in a field that included Duquesne, Saint Francis, Central Connecticut, Mercyhurst and Penn State Altoona.

On Sept. 12, Juniata captured its own Eagle Invitational, held at the Indian Valley Elementary Center in Reedsville. Coffey finished fifth as the Eagles placed all five runners in the top six. Juniata scored just 20 points, comfortably finishing ahead of Lycoming, who totaled 38 points.

On Sept. 27, Coffey ran a 28:58.1 to take 49th overall in the 8k at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational across both the 8k and 4k races.

On Oct. 3, Coffey led Juniata to a 21st place showing at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem. Coffey paced the Eagles in 28:47.3 for 111th overall.

On Oct. 18, the Eagles were 13th at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational, hosted by Gettysburg College. Coffey was 64th in 27:02.1. On Nov. 1, Juniata wrapped up its Landmark Conference Championship meet at Drew University by placing several runners in the top 75. Coffey led the way by clocking a 27:08.94 to finish 40th.

On Nov. 15, Juniata was 23rd at the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regionals. Coffey ran 198th overall and was sixth out of the Eagles’ runners with a time of 32:38.7. Johns Hopkins won the team title with an impressive 23-point performance, placing its entire scoring group inside the top nine.

According to the school’s website, Sheaffer debuted at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational on Sept. 27, finishing the 4K in 101st place. On Oct. 3 at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Sheaffer ran a 31:56.6 for 1,328th place to contribute to the team’s 28th-place finish.

On Oct. 18, Sheaffer was 176th in 30:05.90 at the Aubrey Shenk Invite as Juniata ended up 22nd in the team standings. The Eagles closed out its Landmark Conference Championship meet with a solid showing, placing five runners in the top 80. Sheaffer clocked in with a season’s best time of 29:47.84.

Local duo set sail at Ship

Ben Hummel (Middleburg/Midd-West High School) and Chayce Macknair (Lewistown/Mifflin County) helped Division II Shippensburg through the cross country season this past fall in different ways. Hummel was in the midst of his first college season, while Macknair served as an assistant coach.

After a decorated high school career, Hummel continued his run of success as he and the Raiders captured four titles during the fall season.

On Sept. 5 at the Galen Piper Cross Country Challenge, Shippensburg won its fourth straight team title as Hummel did not run. Ironically, Macknair did run with the alumni team in the event and placed 16th individually.

On Sept. 19, Hummel competed at Haverford’s Main Line Invitational as placed 61st in 21:39.8. Shippensburg was the only Division II school in the race to record a team score, placing sixth. Pacing the field was Penn, who put six runners in the top 10, while LaSalle and George Mason ran 2-3.

On Sept. 27, Shippensburg used a 1-2-3 finish to win the Dickinson Short Invitational with a perfect team score. Hummel clocked in at 13:04.2, which was good for 21st place. On Oct. 3, Hummel competed in his first collegiate 8K as he competed in the open division of the Paul Short Run at Lehigh. Hummel was 243rd in 26:27.4.

On Oct. 25, Hummel finished 32nd at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships as the Raiders captured their third-straight crown by putting four runners in the top eight and all scorers inside the top 20. Hummel was the Raiders’ seventh runner across the finish line in 26:19.7.

On Nov. 8 at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships held at Lock Haven, the Raiders claimed top team honors with its fifth-ever regional crown. Shippensburg edged No. 29 Charleston by two points for the team title. Hummel finished 33rd as the Raiders’ No. 6 runner in 32:06.3.

That punched a ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Kenosha, Wisc., at Wisconsin Parkside on Nov. 22. There, the Raiders finished 17th to achieve its best national finish in eight years. Hummel ran 231st in 33:20.2.

Macknair served as an assistant coach at Shippensburg this season. A former harrier at Shippensburg, Macknair was a two-time United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region competitor, two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference place-winner, All-PSAC winner and a PSAC champion.