Friday, October 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
9:30 AM
Lehigh University
vs
Paul Short Run
Photo by: Don Paul
Slew of Lehigh Runners Run Personal Bests at the Paul Short Run
10/3/2025 4:54:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh hosted the 2025 Paul Short Run Presented by Asics Friday on the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course. The Mountain Hawks split their team between the Gold and Open Races. Lehigh placed 29th as a team, scoring 844 points.Â
Georgetown was the overall team winner, scoring 102 points en route to its fifth men's Paul Short title. The Hoyas beat out Utah State and Texas A&M, who finished in second and third, respectively. Sam Burgess of Harvard was the first overall finisher in the Gold Race, setting a winning time of 23:18.6.Â
Of the ten Lehigh runners who ran in the Gold Race, six of them set new personal bests, including the top three. That group was led by junior Ryan Baker, who's personal best time of 24:20.0 landed him in 84th place. This race also gave him the fourth place spot on Lehigh's Goodman Cross Country Course all-time record list. The next finisher for the Mountain Hawks was senior Adam Barbato. Although he just missed out on placing in the top 100, his 109th place finishing time of 24:35.3 gave him a 30-second personal best.Â
"I think we had a phenomenal one-two punch," exclaimed head coach Debbie Utesch. "Ryan Baker had a career performance, Adam Barbato ran a career performance. The gold race has a very different look. When you're PRing, running faster than you ever run, and you are in the back of this tremendous field. It's a different look, and it feels different doing that."
Sophomore Charlie Butler was the third finisher for Lehigh at 25:24.2. His 21 second personal best time landed him in 223rd. Senior Dan Malatesta led the trio of himself and juniors Dylan Cunningham and Derek Coceano to the finish line as the next three Lehigh finishers. They all finished within four seconds of each other, running 25:41.7 (258th), 25:42.7 (262th), and 25:45.0 (266th), respectively. Cuningham's time was a 25-second personal best. Senior Connor Malinger rounded out Lehigh's top seven, running 25:52.2 to secure 278th place.Â
Will Mrozinski was the first Mountain Hawk to finish in the Open Race, placing 74th overall. The sophomore's time of 25:17.0 was the third best time for Lehigh on the day, and a 30-second personal best. Senior Henry Burd and sophomore Ben Connell were the next two Lehigh runners to finish, placing 109th and 119th respectively. Burd set a new personal best at 25:32.6, and Connell's time of 25:38.3 was only one second shy of his best. Senior Alex Heidemann (170th) and junior Noah Zahn (190th) were the fourth and fifth runners for the Mountain Hawks, with times of 25:57.1and 26:05.8, respectively.
"It was really interesting to see how well the guys in the open race did," Utesch noted. "I think we have some good momentum on an individual level that we need to tighten up into a team performance."
The Mountain Hawks head to New Jersey for their next event. They will race at the Princeton Fall Classic on Friday, October 18.Â
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Georgetown was the overall team winner, scoring 102 points en route to its fifth men's Paul Short title. The Hoyas beat out Utah State and Texas A&M, who finished in second and third, respectively. Sam Burgess of Harvard was the first overall finisher in the Gold Race, setting a winning time of 23:18.6.Â
Of the ten Lehigh runners who ran in the Gold Race, six of them set new personal bests, including the top three. That group was led by junior Ryan Baker, who's personal best time of 24:20.0 landed him in 84th place. This race also gave him the fourth place spot on Lehigh's Goodman Cross Country Course all-time record list. The next finisher for the Mountain Hawks was senior Adam Barbato. Although he just missed out on placing in the top 100, his 109th place finishing time of 24:35.3 gave him a 30-second personal best.Â
"I think we had a phenomenal one-two punch," exclaimed head coach Debbie Utesch. "Ryan Baker had a career performance, Adam Barbato ran a career performance. The gold race has a very different look. When you're PRing, running faster than you ever run, and you are in the back of this tremendous field. It's a different look, and it feels different doing that."
Sophomore Charlie Butler was the third finisher for Lehigh at 25:24.2. His 21 second personal best time landed him in 223rd. Senior Dan Malatesta led the trio of himself and juniors Dylan Cunningham and Derek Coceano to the finish line as the next three Lehigh finishers. They all finished within four seconds of each other, running 25:41.7 (258th), 25:42.7 (262th), and 25:45.0 (266th), respectively. Cuningham's time was a 25-second personal best. Senior Connor Malinger rounded out Lehigh's top seven, running 25:52.2 to secure 278th place.Â
Will Mrozinski was the first Mountain Hawk to finish in the Open Race, placing 74th overall. The sophomore's time of 25:17.0 was the third best time for Lehigh on the day, and a 30-second personal best. Senior Henry Burd and sophomore Ben Connell were the next two Lehigh runners to finish, placing 109th and 119th respectively. Burd set a new personal best at 25:32.6, and Connell's time of 25:38.3 was only one second shy of his best. Senior Alex Heidemann (170th) and junior Noah Zahn (190th) were the fourth and fifth runners for the Mountain Hawks, with times of 25:57.1and 26:05.8, respectively.
"It was really interesting to see how well the guys in the open race did," Utesch noted. "I think we have some good momentum on an individual level that we need to tighten up into a team performance."
The Mountain Hawks head to New Jersey for their next event. They will race at the Princeton Fall Classic on Friday, October 18.Â
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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
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