Saint Vincent College Women's Cross Country

Kevin Wanichko enters his tenth season coaching the Bearcats cross country and track and field team's in 2025-26. Wanichko has helped multiple all-conference and all-region athletes during his time at Saint Vincent and the Bearcat runners have set a number of school records during his eight seasons as well. In 2024, both the men's and women's team earned third place finishes at the PAC Championship Meet. Patterson won the championship individually on the men's side and qualified for the NCAA National Championship race for the second season in a row. He also helped lead freshman Grace Neubert to earn the PAC Newcomer of the Year award and spot in the NCAA National Championship meet as well. In 2023, he helped led the Bearcats to a PAC Championship victory, while he was also named the conference Coach of the Year as well. He helped lead Tim Patterson to a third place finish at the conference championships and he later qualified and competed at the NCAA National Championship meet. In 2022, he helped lead Kristen Prince and Brady Sundin to PAC Newcomer of the Year awards in cross country. Prince also qualified for the NCAA Championship meet as well, being only the second female to qualify for the national meet in Saint Vincent history.  On the track side in 2023, he helped lead Tim Patterson to win the 5K and 10K races at the PAC Championship meet, while he was also named PAC Championship Track MVP as well. Under his direction Joe Bujdos was named All-Region for the second straight season as well.  In 2022, both the men and women's cross country teams earned top-five finishes under the direction of Wanichko, with the men placing in fourth and the women finishing third overall. The men and women's teams each had three all-conference athletes as well. Tim Patterson finished second overall in the PAC Championship Meet, while also setting the school record in a meet at Lock Haven in 2022 as well.  In 2022, he helped lead Joe Bujdos and Tim Patterson earn All-Region honors for the Bearcats. During that season Bujdos recorded the PAC Championship Meet record in the 800-meter run, while Patterson ran the ninth fastest time in the region in the 800 as well.  In 2021, Wanichko helped guide one of the top women's cross country runners in Sydney Green to a sixth-place finish at the PAC Championship meet and an all-conference honor. H also led the women's cross country team's to two more top-five finishes in 2019 (5th place) and 2018 (4th place). In 2018 he guided Laura Aston to a top-10, eighth place finish individually and had two more all-conference runners as well.  Wanichko led the Bearcats to a fourth place finish at the 2017 PAC Cross Country Championships. SVC captured team championships at both the SVC Early Bird Invitational and the SVC Fall Invitational. Maggie Czapski earned three PAC Runner of the Week awards, while Macey White claimed Rookie of the Week honors twice. Czapski earned All-PAC Second Team honors while Jessica Brinker claimed Honorable Mention accolades. Czapski was also named PAC SAAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Month in September.  Wanichko led the Bearcats to a fourth place finish at the 2017 PAC Cross Country Championships. SVC captured team championships at both the SVC Early Bird Invitational and the SVC Fall Invitational. Maggie Czapski earned three PAC Runner of the Week awards, while Macey White claimed Rookie of the Week honors twice. Czapski earned All-PAC Second Team honors while Jessica Brinker claimed Honorable Mention accolades. Czapski was also named PAC SAAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Month in September.  During the spring, Czapski and Brinker both excelled, establishing school records in their respective events. Czapski finished in third place in the 1500 Meters at the PAC Outdoor Championships, while Brinker came in third in the 3000 Meter Steeplechase. Brinker qualified for both the ECAC Outdoor and the ECAC Indoor Championships.  During his first year as cross country head coach, Wanichko led the Bearcats to a third place finish at the PAC Championships. Wanichko saw Gina Valotta and Maggie Czapski earn All-PAC Second Team honors in 2016. In the spring, Wanichko completed his first year as women's track and field coach. Under his guidance, Sarah Wozniak became the first field participant in women's program history, competing in the shot put. Freshman Jessica Brinker was lauded twice during the spring with weekly PAC awards.  Wanichko, a 2012 graduate of Saint Vincent, took over the full-time duties at his alma mater after guiding fellow Presidents' Athletic Conference member Chatham University during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. During his time at Chatham, Wanichko saw an increase to the women's roster size and started the first men's cross country/track and field teams in 2015-16. Under Wanichko's guidance, Chatham's track and field program had many highlighted performances. The program had their first PAC Champion in 2015, as Jesse Hinkle claimed the individual title in the women's javelin. During the 2016 indoor track and field season they saw Ariel Gray win a conference title in the long jump. Gray eclipsed the old indoor conference record to become the new conference record holder. Gray became Chatham University's first ECAC medalist with her fifth place finish in the 2016 Indoor ECAC Championships and would go on to earn All-Region honors. In the 2016 outdoor season he guided Hinkle to her second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship in javelin. Also in the 2016 season, Hinkle and Gray were both named to the USTFCCCA All-Region Team. Prior to Chatham, Coach Wanichko spent two years as a volunteer assistant at Saint Vincent, while continuing his education in pursuit of his Masters in Sports Management for California University of Pennsylvania. During his two seasons at SVC, he helped train the team to back-to-back PAC cross country conference championships. During those two seasons he helped train All-American runner Chansler Poole. As a student-athlete at SVC, Wanichko excelled as a four-year competitor in both cross country and track for the Bearcats. During his cross country and track career, he won several championships, which included the 2011 PAC Individual Cross Country Championship. During his collegiate career, the SVC men's cross country team won team titles in both 2010 and 2011. He also claimed individual track titles. Wanichko was also a five-time ECAC medalist and an All-Region runner during the 2011 cross country season. At the time of graduation, he held five school records (1500, 3000, 5000, 4x400 and 4x800). During the 2014-15 academic year, Wanichko was named to the PAC's 60th anniversary team, applauding his success as a student-athlete at Saint Vincent. Kevin graduated from Saint Vincent with a bachelor's degree in communication. He then received his masters degree in sports managment from California University of Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in sports management from Troy University. 

Harbert is entering his 52nd year as a head coach at Saint Vincent College in 2015. Harbert started his career as the school's wrestling coach in 1963, he has also coached men's cross country and men's and women's lacrosse before his current duties of women's cross country head coach. He was instrumental in creating both the men's and women's lacrosse programs, and is the lone coach in the history of Bearcat women's cross country. Harbert also coached the first female athlete in the history of the college. Coach Harbert was honored as "Bearcat of the Year" at the 2014 Bearcat Open. Under Harbert's guidance, Ivette Mejia earned two PAC Championships and NCAA All-American status, setting school records at all distances and recently qualified for the World Corporate Team Championships representing the New York RoadRunners. The Bearcats as a team have had consistent strong finishes in the annual PAC Championship meet, placing several runners on postseason All-PAC teams, while also placing 10th at the ECAC's and a 10th place finish at the University of Notre Dame Catholic Nationals. Prior to joining the NCAA Division III and the PAC, the Bearcats were a consistent force in the NAIA, capped off with the team's first Top 25 ranking in 2005. Over the years, his teams have won numerous invitationals, while his runners have also displayed excellence in academics, as dozens of Bearcats have been named to the PAC's Academic Honor Roll, NAIA All-Academic and the national NCAA Division III All-Academic awards. His 2008 squad also received the Sportswomen's Foundation Team Award as well as several individuals receiving the YWCA Sportswomen of the Year Award in Westmoreland County. A native of Wilkinsburg, PA and graduate of Shippensburg University, Harbert was a top wrestler, winning the PSAC title as a junior before being selected for the United States Olympic Trials. He was also a member of the Shippensburg track team, running the one and two-mile events. He continued to run competitively following graduation, participating in four marathons, and collected a third place finish in one held at Cabos San Lucas in Mexico. He also won the United States Masters Wrestling Tournament at the University of Pennsylvania. Harbert continued his education by completing his masters degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Harbert has picked up a number of accolades over the course of his career, including NAIA District Cross Country Coach of the Year, Honorary Chair for the Pennsylvania XC Challenge, while he received the Saint Vincent College Letterman of Distinction Award, was inducted into the Southwestern Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame at the 2001 Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, and into the Tri-Boro chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. The following year he earned an induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Shippensburg University. Finally in 2010, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and received a certificate of appreciation from the NCAA Division III Track and Field Association for outstanding contribution to the sport. Coach Harbert directed the 2004 American Mideast Conference National Qualifying Cross Country Meet, as well as the 2007 and 2010 Presidents' Athletic Conference championships, and serves on the ECAC Championship Cross Country Committee. Harbert has directed the Saint Vincent College Invitational for more than 30 years. He produced 35 NAIA National Qualifiers during his tenure, and a number of his runners remain active following graduation. Harbert also served as director of the NIKE Girls Lacrosse camp held on campus from 2004 through 2014.

Genie (Fratto) Wanichko joined the women’s cross country and track programs as an assistant coach in 2016-17. She will be assisting her husband, head coach Kevin Wanichko.  Wanichko, a 2014 graduate from SVC, was a four-year runner on the women’s cross country team, serving as a team captain from her sophomore through senior year. She was also a member of the track team for four years, running as an unattached athlete the first three. As a senior, she became a member of the first women’s track team. Wanichko collected many accolades in her final season in a Bearcats’ uniform. On the course, she finished third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship, being named First Team All-PAC. During the season she was named PAC runner of the week four times. She still holds the second fastest 6K time by a SVC women’s runner. On the track, she was named all-conference in the 5K by placing second. She still holds the schools’ 5K record as well. During the 2014-15 academic year, she was named to the PAC's 60th anniversary team, applauding her success as a student-athlete at Saint Vincent.  Prior to joining SVC, Wanichko was an assistant coach for the Cross Country program at nearby Greater Latrobe High School.