PSAC will permit swimming, cross country to stage league championships
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference on Thursday announced it will permit league championships to take place in women’s and men’s swimming and cross country.
The decision comes after the recent conference board of directors votes to cancel mandated regular-season schedules and championships for all fall and winter sports.
The board left open the possibility to continue championship opportunities should six or more institutions elect to compete in a championship season.
Votes collected indicated the necessary amount of schools have committed to a championship season in swimming and cross country. Guidelines set forth by the NCAA Covid-19 Advisory Panel designated swimming and cross country as “low-risk” sports.
The PSAC said specific details for cross country and swimming will be released. It anticipates the championship dates for cross country to be over a weekend in late March, with swimming to be over a weekend in late April.
Teams in the PSAC are Seton Hill, Cal (Pa.), IUP, Slippery Rock, Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown, Edinboro, Mercyhurst, Gannon, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Kutztown, Bloomsburg, West Chester, Shippensburg, Millersville, East Stroudsburg and Shepherd.
The decisions Wednesday and Thursday affect dozens of graduates from WPIAL schools.
Schools such as Cal U (Pa.) and Slippery Rock have announced they have opted in to the championship opportunities for the specific sports they sponsor.
“The nature of the PSAC cross country championships being a single event in a low-risk setting is what allowed the league presidents to vote in favor of having this event in the spring,” said SRU President William Behre in a statement reacting to the PSAC’s decision. Slippery Rock sponsors both men’s and women’s cross country.
“I am very happy for our student-athletes who will be able to compete in this event, and I look forward to a time when we can get all of our student-athletes and teams back to competing safely,” Behre said.
The PSAC said it will announce any other changes to projected 2021 schedules as soon as they become available.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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