Men’s Cross Country Set for NCAA Regional Meet

Friday, November 13

Princeton, N.J.

1 p.m.

Lehigh University

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals

Photo by: Don Paul

Men’s Cross Country Set for NCAA Regional Meet

11/11/2015 4:30:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's cross country team will return to action this Friday at Princeton for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals. The day will begin at noon with the 6K women's race, followed by the 10K men's race at 1 p.m. All races will take place at Princeton's West Windsor Fields.

In last year's regional at Penn State, Lehigh's men finished ninth overall, marking the third consecutive season they finished in the top 10. Ryan Mahalsky finished fifth overall, good enough for first among Patriot League runners and earned him a spot at the NCAA Championships. Last season also marked the first time ever that Lehigh had two runners competing in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the same year, as Mahalsky was joined by Elizabeth Weiler after she ran to a sixth place finish in the women's race.

This season, the Mountain Hawks raced to a fourth place finish at the Patriot League Championships at Colgate on Oct. 31, led by sophomore Patrick Reilly's 14th place overall finish. Senior Evan Hardy was right on his heels in 16th place, followed by senior Sean Burke and junior Nicholas Hirdt. Joining these four runners at the regionals this weekend will be Lehigh's other PLC top seven finishers - Evan Ward, Kyle Kirk and Ryan Cooney.

Reilly has led the Mountain Hawks in four of his five races this season. Hardy and Ward have both finished in the team's top four in four of their five races as well. Hirdt's highest finish this season was a fourth place mark at Lafayette, while Cooney came in third overall at the Lehigh Invitational and seventh at the Lafayette dual meet. Burke crossed the line third for the team at the PLC, with Kirk finishing sixth.

American, Bucknell, Lafayette, Loyola (Md.) and Navy will join Lehigh in representing the Patriot League at the regional meet. In total, 28 men's teams have qualified for the event and will feature seven runners each. Patriot League champion Navy enters the meet ranked No. 4 in the region, one spot behind defending champion, Villanova. Lehigh is currently tabbed at No. 11. Nationally, Georgetown (15), Villanova (22) and Penn (23) all appear in the latest Division I rankings.

The top two teams at the regional will advance to the NCAA Cross Country National Championships in Louisville, Ky. The top four individual regional finishers (outside of those from teams that qualify) will also receive automatic bids to nationals. Complete national championship qualifications can be found here.

For more meet information, please visit the regional's Championship Central page. A complete recap with results will be posted on Lehighsports.com at the conclusion of each race.

Mid-Atlantic Top 15 Poll

1. Georgetown
2. Penn
3. Villanova
4. Navy
5. Princeton
6. Penn State
7. Saint Joseph's
8. La Salle
9. UMBC
10. Pittsburgh
11. Lehigh
12. Bucknell
13. Temple
14. Duquesne
15. Monmouth