Cross Country to Compete in Pair of Saturday Races

Saturday, October 17

Easton, Pa.

10 a.m.

Lehigh University

Leopard Cross Country Invitational

Cross Country to Compete in Pair of Saturday Races

10/15/2015 11:02:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In their final competitions before the Patriot League Championships, the Mountain Hawks' men's and women's cross country programs will be competing at the Princeton Invitational and the Leopard Cross Country Invitational this Saturday. Lehigh will be one of 26 schools, mostly from the Mid-Atlantic Region, competing at Princeton, and one of 11 institutions at the Leopard Invite.

Both teams saw action last season at the Princeton Invite, with the women having a strong day, finishing eighth out of 35 teams. Led by Elizabeth Weiler in third place overall, Lehigh saw Amanda Ruschel, Hannah Leskow, Arielle Weiner and Shannon Wright all place in the top 141 of the championship race's 278 competitors.

Last season, the Lehigh men divided their squad between the Princeton Invite and Pre-Nationals in Indiana. Jack Curran (91st), Kyle Leonard (98th) and Scott Mason (106th) led the team at Princeton.

This season, sophomore Patrick Reilly has risen up as the frontrunner for the men's squad, which has earned a pair of team victories so far this season at the Lehigh Invitational and Lafayette dual meet, obtaining perfect scores of 15 at both. Lehigh is coming off a ninth place showing at the Paul Short Run, marking the third time in the last four years the team has placed ninth at one of the largest meets in the country.

Reilly followed up his Lehigh Invitational win with a third place tally at Lafayette, and a Patriot League-leading 24th place finish at Paul Short. Sophomore Scott Mason picked up his first collegiate victory on Lafayette's course on Sept. 19, and has another top-seven team finish to his credit at Paul Short. Ryan Cooney and Evan Ward have both been a part of Lehigh's top seven in all three races this season, and senior Evan Hardy has placed in Lehigh's top five in two meets thus far.

"We've competed pretty well there in the past," said head coach Todd Etters on the Princeton Invitational. "Our training has looked good over the couple weeks. We've hit some key workouts and been able to close that gap and keep a tight pack, and that's really what we're all about."

On the women's side, Shannon Wright has led the Mountain Hawks' pack in two of the first three races this season, including her first career win at Lafayette on Sept. 19. Laura Barnes was the team's top racer at the Paul Short Run, setting a new a personal best time and cementing her third finish in Lehigh's top seven. Senior Arielle Weiner has also been a mainstay towards the front of the pack thus far, along with freshman Stephanie Hayes, who has finished in Lehigh's top seven twice this season.

This will be the first time Lehigh will compete at the Leopard Invite, hosted by Lafayette, since 2013 when the men placed fourth out of 12 teams, and the women came in seventh out of 14. Then-freshman Ryan Cooney, led the Mountain Hawk men at the event with a 16th place finish in the 8K event. Evan Ward was third among Lehigh finishers in 26th place. Anne Birkenmaier was Lehigh's top female finisher in 39th place.

A complete recap and results from both meets will be available on Lehighsports.com following the conclusion of both meets.