Friday, August 30
Bethlehem, Pa.
5:30 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Lehigh Invite
Photo by: Don Paul
Mountain Hawks Place Second At Lehigh Invite 6K
8/30/2024 10:19:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 2024 men's cross country season kicked off on Friday evening for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in their own backyard on Goodman Campus for the Lehigh Invite. The Mountain Hawks competed in a 6K race against DeSales, Moravian, Muhlenberg, NJIT and Saint Joseph's, earning a second-place finish by a mere one point.
"We have a pretty mature team and some strong leadership at the top," said head coach Todd Etters. "They're able to put a day like this in perspective. It would've been nice to get the win, that was our goal… We had some good surprises and we have some stuff we need to work on."
Saint Joseph's came away with the team victory for the second straight year at the invite, but this time around it was a much closer affair. Lehigh finished 20 points behind the Hawks in 2023 and nearly took the top spot at the race after finishing only one point behind Saint Joseph's this year.
Senior Aidan Lynch finished first for the Mountain Hawks, claiming third place with a time of 18:40.2. Finishing closely behind was sophomore Ryan Baker, who impressed with a fourth-place finish in 18:40.8 after competing in only two races as a first-year. Rounding out Lehigh's top three was senior Kevin Harvey, who earned sixth with a time of 18:43.0.
"I thought Ryan ran phenomenally," said Etters. "He worked his tail off this summer. I told him that it wasn't just about his physicals, but also his mentals. He got himself in the right spot to challenge a race like that up towards the front, and clearly that's going to help our team moving forward."
Rounding out the top 20 for Lehigh was junior Dan Malatesta (10th, 18:51.6), first-year Ben Connell (12th, 18:54.2), first-year Charlie Butler (15th, 18:55.9) and sophomore Derek Coceano (17th, 19:00.3).
Saint Joseph's and Lehigh earned the top two spots in the race while Moravian, DeSales, NJIT and Muhlenberg followed them in that order.
"This year it feels like we have a much steadier and confident group," said Etters. "I think we can challenge even better the next time we race."
The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Friday, September 13 at Penn State University for the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe.
Follow Lehigh men's cross country on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
2024 Lehigh Invite Men's 6k ResultsGallery: (8-30-2024) 8-30-24 Lehigh Invite 6K (Don Paul)
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"We have a pretty mature team and some strong leadership at the top," said head coach Todd Etters. "They're able to put a day like this in perspective. It would've been nice to get the win, that was our goal… We had some good surprises and we have some stuff we need to work on."
Saint Joseph's came away with the team victory for the second straight year at the invite, but this time around it was a much closer affair. Lehigh finished 20 points behind the Hawks in 2023 and nearly took the top spot at the race after finishing only one point behind Saint Joseph's this year.
Senior Aidan Lynch finished first for the Mountain Hawks, claiming third place with a time of 18:40.2. Finishing closely behind was sophomore Ryan Baker, who impressed with a fourth-place finish in 18:40.8 after competing in only two races as a first-year. Rounding out Lehigh's top three was senior Kevin Harvey, who earned sixth with a time of 18:43.0.
"I thought Ryan ran phenomenally," said Etters. "He worked his tail off this summer. I told him that it wasn't just about his physicals, but also his mentals. He got himself in the right spot to challenge a race like that up towards the front, and clearly that's going to help our team moving forward."
Rounding out the top 20 for Lehigh was junior Dan Malatesta (10th, 18:51.6), first-year Ben Connell (12th, 18:54.2), first-year Charlie Butler (15th, 18:55.9) and sophomore Derek Coceano (17th, 19:00.3).
Saint Joseph's and Lehigh earned the top two spots in the race while Moravian, DeSales, NJIT and Muhlenberg followed them in that order.
"This year it feels like we have a much steadier and confident group," said Etters. "I think we can challenge even better the next time we race."
The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Friday, September 13 at Penn State University for the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe.
Follow Lehigh men's cross country on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
2024 Lehigh Invite Men's 6k Results
- Saint Joseph's (Pa.), 29
- Lehigh, 30
- Moravian, 72
- DeSales, 117
- NJIT, 150
- Muhlenberg, 178
Players Mentioned
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