BETHLEHEM, Pa.- Lehigh hosted the 34th running of the Brooks Paul Short Run Friday afternoon on the Goodman Campus. With over 90 collegiate teams and over 55 high school teams, it was once again one of the largest cross country meets in the U.S. The Villanova men claimed its second straight team title, while the Princeton women also claimed its second straight title. Lehigh finished 21st overall in the men’s race, while the women finished 32nd.
The day started off with the men’s college brown 8k race, with 41 teams and 270 runners participating. Villanova won the team title, scoring 50 points, and placing three runners in the top ten. The Wildcats were led by Bobby Curtis, who won the individual title for the second straight year, and set a new Paul Short meet record. His finishing time of 23:39 was four seconds faster than the previous mark set in 2004. Syracuse came in second overall with 84 points and placed two runners in the top ten. The No. 4 team in the country, Iona, finished eighth overall and were paced by Andrew Ledwith, who finished second with a time of 24:04.
The Mountain Hawks placed 21st in the race, with freshman Dan McClimon once again leading the way for the Brown and White. McClimon placed 69th overall, finishing the race in 25:36. Other Lehigh finishing times were Jon Wetzel (25:53, 102nd), Dan DeWitt (26:09, 133rd), Kenny Burgess (26:19, 156th), Ben Lampi (26:21, 158th), Jared LaBar (26:28, 170th) and Doug Ridyard (26:46, 198th).
On the women’s side, Princeton claimed its second straight title with five runners in the top 15. The Tigers scored 45 points, easily getting by West Virginia, who finished with 118 points. Texas Tech came in third overall, but had the top two individual finishers. Sally Kipyego set a new meet record, with a time of 19:59, becoming the first woman to finish the Paul Short 6k in fewer than 20 minutes. Teammate Irene Kimaiyo was not far behind, finishing in 20:16, which tied the old record.
The Lehigh women’s team placed 32nd overall, with Shannon Alejandro leading the pack. The junior finished 47th overall with a time of 21:45. Other Lehigh finishing times were Alexis Weiner (22:56, 140th), Katie McClernand (23:54, 215th), Dana Stellar (23:54, 216th), Jennifer Curran (23:57, 219th), Jennifer Filiberto (24:13, 238th) and Andrea Mascaro (24:50, 269th).
In the men’s college white 8k race, Dickinson College took first overall with 119 points. Bloomsburg and Johns Hopkins finished in a tie for second place, each scoring 148 points. Tony Pearson of West Chester won the individual title with a time of 25:45.
In the women’s college white 6k race, SUNY Cortland finished first overall with a score of 158 points. Grove City College came in second, finishing nine points behind Cortland. Grove City also had the individual winner, as Kristen Carter finished the 6k in 21:47.
In the high school boy’s varsity race, Germantown Friends finished first overall with a score of 124 points. Doug Smith of Gill St. Bernard’s won the individual title, finishing the 5k race in 15:10, 17 seconds ahead of Max Kaulbach of Germantown Friends.
Cumberland Valley narrowly edged out Cardinal O’Hara to win the high school girl’s varsity race. Cumberland Valley finished with four runners in the top 30 and an overall score of 123. Just two points behind them was Cardinal O’Hara, who had three runners in the top 30. Neely Spence won her second consecutive individual title, finishing the 5k race in 17:37, ten seconds faster than her winning time last year.
Lehigh returns to action on October 12, when they travel to University Park to participate in the Penn State National Invite. The race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
