Lehigh to Host Final Home Meet of Season with NCAA Regionals

Friday, November 10

Bethlehem, Pa.

11:45 a.m.

Lehigh University

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional

Photo by: Don Paul

Lehigh to Host Final Home Meet of Season with NCAA Regionals

11/6/2017 4:07:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Meet Information | 2017 Lehigh Results Sheet | USTFCCCA Regional Rankings | NCAA Qualifying Criteria

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's cross country team will host its final meet of the season on Friday morning at the Goodman Campus Course in the NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Regional. The meet will be one of nine regionals to take place throughout the nation this weekend and feature 26 men's teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region. Complete information on parking, live results, schedules, media information and more are all available on the meet information page.

NCAA National Championship Qualifying
Each of the teams and individuals competing will be vying for a spot in the NCAA Cross Country Championships on November 18 in Louisville, Ky. The top two teams from each region, plus 13 at-large teams from across the country will qualify for the national championships. After teams have been determined, 38 additional individuals will be selected to compete at nationals. A complete breakdown of the qualification process can be found by clicking here.

Participating Men's Teams
American, Bucknell, Duquesne, George Washington, Georgetown, La Salle, Lafayette, Lehigh, Loyola (Md.), Marshall, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Navy, NJIT, Penn, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rider, Rutgers, St. Francis (Pa.), Seton Hall, St. Joseph's (Pa.), Temple, UMBC, and Villanova.

Each of the top 15 teams in the latest USTFCCCA Regional Rankings will be represented at the meet, including No. 12 Lehigh. Fellow Patriot League opponents American, Bucknell, Lafayette, Loyola and Navy will all be racing at Goodman for the second time in recent weeks. Lehigh hosted the Patriot League Championships on Oct. 28, where Navy was the highest-placing Mid-Atlantic program in second place, followed by American in fourth, Bucknell in fifth and Lehigh in sixth.

The regional will be Lehigh's fifth race on their home course this season, but will also mark the first time the team will run the 10K distance in 2017. While racing at home prior to the league championships, the Mountain Hawks placed second out of eight teams at the season-opening Lehigh Invitational on September 1, finishing just three points behind Rutgers. Lehigh wen on to defeat Lafayette 16-47 in the school's annual dual meet, and placed 20th out of 40 teams in a very deep field that featured several nationally ranked teams in the Gold Race at the Paul Short Run.

Sophomore Jeffrey Kirshenbaum led the Lehigh pack at the league championships, finishing 11th overall and earning second team all-league honors. Senior Patrick Reilly was 25th overall at the PLC, and led the Mountain Hawks pack in each of his prior five races during the season. Sophomore Victor Yegon has been a mainstay in Lehigh's top five this year, complete with an 8K PR of 24:52 at Paul Short. Freshman Brad DeMassa has earned a pair of PL Rookie of the Week honors this year for his performances at the Battle in Beantown and the Penn State National Open. Senior Ryan Grace has been a mainstay in the team's top seven as well, and senior John Tolbert set a new collegiate 8K PR at Paul Short (25:13.6). Sophomore Matt Kravitz also ran a season-best 8K of 25:19.0 at the league championships.

The men's 10K is scheduled for an 11:45 a.m. start, following the women's 6K which will start at 10:45 a.m. Awards ceremonies for both races will follow the conclusion of the men's race inside Goodman Stadium. Lehighsports.com will have results, highlights and a complete recap following the meet.

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