PHILADELPHIA - Four athletes from the University of Pennsylvania men's and women's cross country teams nabbed All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors after placing inside the top 25 at Friday's NCAA Regional, hosted by Lehigh, the USTFCCCA announced on Monday.

From the men's team, Anthony Russo and Will Daly garnered All-Region distinction while sophomore Ariana Gardizy and Nia Akins picked up the honors on the women's side.

FULL USTFCCCA ALL-REGION TEAMS

Russo, who will represent Penn at this weekend's NCAA XC Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., continued an incredible junior season at the NCAA Regional, finishing in the top 10 for the second straight year with a ninth-place result and his second All-Region recognition of his career. The junior qualfying for nationals marks the sixth time in the last seven years that a Penn runner will be at NCAA Championships. 

Russo and Daly kicked off championship season in style with top-10 finishes at the Ivy League XC Heptagonal Championships, highlighted by the Quakers' second crown in the last four years. Russo was the runner-up with first-team All-Ivy honors while Daly placed 10th as a second-team All-Ivy selection. Daly was the second Penn runner to finish again at NCAA Regionals, placing 24th, wrapping up his fall with All-Region honors, helping the Red and Blue to a fifth-place team showing in the 25-team field.

On the women's side, Gardizy and Akins led the way, propelling Penn to a sixth-place result while they both add to their list of accolades this fall with All-Region honors. Both runners also picked up second-team All-Ivy honors two weeks ago at Heps with 13th- and 14th-place runs. At the NCAA Regional, Gardizy, just a sophomore, was the first to cross the line in Red and Blue stripes, placing 17th in 20:40.6 and Akins wasn't far behind, finishing exactly five seconds later in 21st.