Saturday, September 17
Easton, Pa.
10 a.m.
Lehigh University
15
at
50
Lafayette
Men’s Cross Country Cruises Past Lafayette
9/17/2016 2:12:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
View Complete Results (TFRRS)
View Complete Men's Results (PDF)
EASTON, Pa. – For the fourth time in the past five years, the Lehigh men's cross country team tallied a perfect score against rival Lafayette, taking down the Leopards 15-50 on Saturday morning at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex. Senior Jack Curran picked up the first collegiate win of his career to lead a field that saw Lehigh capture each of the race's top 16 spots. Lehigh kept a tight pack throughout the entire race, with all 16 runners finishing within 3.13 seconds of each other.
The win also marked the 18th consecutive win for Lehigh in the rivalry series, and the third straight year of attaining a perfect score. Lehigh's five seniors led the way on Saturday with Curran breaking the tape with his time of 27:30.89, followed just one-hundredth of a second behind by Kyle Leonard. Classmate Ryan Cooney (27:31.91) took home third place followed by Nicholas Hirdt (27:31.93) in fourth and Alex Fitzgerald in fifth (27:31.94).
"Perfect execution of the race plan," said head coach Todd Etters. "They just showed a lot of discipline and focus, did a good job of knowing where everyone was, and making sure they stuck together."
Junior Henry Paul (27:31.96) finished sixth and Joseph Inglis (27:32.05) rounded out the team's scoring in the top seven. Christopher Mascetti (8th/27:32.10), Ryan Grace (9th/27:32.12) and John Tolbert (10th/27:32.15) rounded out the top 10 overall.
Lehigh's sophomores Brian Arita (27:32.18), Mitchell Daddario (27:32.22), and Samuel Layding (27:33.01) took spots 11-13, respectively. Places 14-16 were filled out by freshmen Matt Kravitz (27:33.05), Jeffrey Kirshenbaum (27:33.07) and Rafael Hernandez (27:34.02).
"It's always great to run a course that the championship is going to be on," Etters said, referring to the Patriot League Championship to be held at Lafayette on Oct. 29. "Today we wanted to control the race right from the gun and we were able to do that. It was a nice opportunity for them to get out there and run in a race where they're controlled with their teammates. It's probably not going to be quite that effective at the championship, but it was nice to be able to do that today."
"We took a more conservative approach today," Curran said after the race. "We wanted to go out a little bit slower and take the lead from the front, but not go out too hard. Our goal today was just to have everyone finish together, at whatever pace that took."
Numerous Lehigh cross country and track and field alums made their way to the race to cheer on the Mountain Hawks, a presence that was certainly felt by the Lehigh runners.
"The alumni support was awesome," Curran said. "All of them were congratulating us and cheering us on throughout various points on the course. The alumni really makes this sport what it is for us."
Next up for Lehigh will be the 43rd annual Paul Short Run at the Goodman Campus on Oct. 1.
View Complete Men's Results (PDF)
EASTON, Pa. – For the fourth time in the past five years, the Lehigh men's cross country team tallied a perfect score against rival Lafayette, taking down the Leopards 15-50 on Saturday morning at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex. Senior Jack Curran picked up the first collegiate win of his career to lead a field that saw Lehigh capture each of the race's top 16 spots. Lehigh kept a tight pack throughout the entire race, with all 16 runners finishing within 3.13 seconds of each other.
The win also marked the 18th consecutive win for Lehigh in the rivalry series, and the third straight year of attaining a perfect score. Lehigh's five seniors led the way on Saturday with Curran breaking the tape with his time of 27:30.89, followed just one-hundredth of a second behind by Kyle Leonard. Classmate Ryan Cooney (27:31.91) took home third place followed by Nicholas Hirdt (27:31.93) in fourth and Alex Fitzgerald in fifth (27:31.94).
"Perfect execution of the race plan," said head coach Todd Etters. "They just showed a lot of discipline and focus, did a good job of knowing where everyone was, and making sure they stuck together."
Junior Henry Paul (27:31.96) finished sixth and Joseph Inglis (27:32.05) rounded out the team's scoring in the top seven. Christopher Mascetti (8th/27:32.10), Ryan Grace (9th/27:32.12) and John Tolbert (10th/27:32.15) rounded out the top 10 overall.
Lehigh's sophomores Brian Arita (27:32.18), Mitchell Daddario (27:32.22), and Samuel Layding (27:33.01) took spots 11-13, respectively. Places 14-16 were filled out by freshmen Matt Kravitz (27:33.05), Jeffrey Kirshenbaum (27:33.07) and Rafael Hernandez (27:34.02).
"It's always great to run a course that the championship is going to be on," Etters said, referring to the Patriot League Championship to be held at Lafayette on Oct. 29. "Today we wanted to control the race right from the gun and we were able to do that. It was a nice opportunity for them to get out there and run in a race where they're controlled with their teammates. It's probably not going to be quite that effective at the championship, but it was nice to be able to do that today."
"We took a more conservative approach today," Curran said after the race. "We wanted to go out a little bit slower and take the lead from the front, but not go out too hard. Our goal today was just to have everyone finish together, at whatever pace that took."
Numerous Lehigh cross country and track and field alums made their way to the race to cheer on the Mountain Hawks, a presence that was certainly felt by the Lehigh runners.
"The alumni support was awesome," Curran said. "All of them were congratulating us and cheering us on throughout various points on the course. The alumni really makes this sport what it is for us."
Next up for Lehigh will be the 43rd annual Paul Short Run at the Goodman Campus on Oct. 1.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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