Mueller wins fourth career race as Lehigh finds success at two meets

Saturday, October 19

Princeton, N.J.

11:15 am

Lehigh University

Princeton Invitational

Mueller wins fourth career race as Lehigh finds success at two meets

10/19/2013 3:19:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Princeton Invitational Results | Leopard Invitational Men's Results

PRINCETON, N.J. – Lehigh senior Tyler Mueller captured his fourth collegiate win and second victory of the season as he raced to a first place finish at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday. Mueller's efforts helped the Mountain Hawks to a fifth place finish at the event, while other Lehigh runners secured a fourth place finish at the Lafayette Leopard Invitational.

All seven Lehigh runners who competed at the Princeton Invitational recorded new personal bests en route to Lehigh's fifth place finish.

"Tyler ran a great race and I'm very proud of how he handled himself," said head coach Todd Etters. "The guys who ran at Princeton looked very comfortable in their roles. It's nice to see us back in the mix of where we were hoping to be all year."

Mueller finished the 8K race with a new personal best time of 23:36. The blistering pace marked the second consecutive personal best for the senior as he toppled his previous best of 23:58 that was set at the 40th Annual Paul Short Run just two weeks ago.

Junior Ryan Mahalsky wasn't far behind Mueller, as Mahalsky placed 14th with a new personal best time of 24:16. The Hillsborough, N.J. native bested his previous time of 24:32.5 that was set at the 2012 Pre-Nationals race.

Freshman Alex Fitzgerald impressed with a 48th place finish with a time of 24:53. More Mountain Hawks had new personal records as junior Casey Gilboy crossed the line in 24:56 to grab 54th place, sophomore Evan Hardy placed 66th with a time of 25:07, junior Nick Ward finished in 25:09 to claim 74th, and senior Ryan Knouse followed in 91st place with a time of 25:17.

Nationally-ranked Villanova secured first place at Princeton with 23 points. LaSalle (94), Princeton (135) and St. Joseph's (158) edged out Lehigh who recorded 183 team points.

Lehigh took fourth place at the Leopard Invitational with 132 team points as two Mountain Hawks finished in the top 20. Freshman Ryan Cooney was Lehigh's top finisher in 16th place with a new personal best time of 26:18.94. Senior Nick Molloy followed right behind in 17th place with a time of 26:24.88

"I'm very pleased with how our front three guys ran at Lafayette," said Etters. "They ran agressive and smart and finished pretty well amongst the other Patriot League schools. We have a lot of things to look forward to in two weeks."

American won the Leopard Invitational with 21 team points, while Cortland State followed in second place with 56 points. Bucknell finished third with 90 points.

The Mountain Hawks will now begin preparations to defend their title on Nov. 2 when Lehigh heads to Lafayette yet again to participate in the Patriot League Championships.