Friday, October 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
9:30 AM
Lehigh University
vs
Paul Short Run
Photo by: Don Paul
Highduch and Hughes Land on Lehigh's All-Time Performance List at Paul Short
10/3/2025 5:03:00 PM | Women'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 25th as a team, scoring 694 points.Â
Villanova won the women's Gold Race, its seventh Paul Short title, with 110 points. This win elevated the Wildcats to sole possession of the most Paul Short team wins. Villanova passed Penn State and Georgetown, who also happened to be the second and third place team finishers. Georgetown did have the distinction of having the winning runner, as Melissa Riggins won the Gold Race with a time of 19:34.8. She separated from Elon's Katie Blount and Villanova's Margaret Caroll in the final stretch, finishing at 19:37.1 and 19:38.3, respectively.
Lehigh's top finisher was Kaitlyn Highduch, who placed 59th overall. The sophomore's 20:53.6 finish was not just a massive 40-second personal best, but it also vaulted her to fourth on Lehigh's Goodman Cross Country Course all-time record list.Â
Junior Grace Hughes secured second for Lehigh, placing 73rd overall. She set a new personal best by over a minute, running 21:03.7, which gave her the seventh place spot on Lehigh's Goodman Cross Country Course all-time record list. Senior Lucy Afanasewicz was the third Mountain Hawk to finish, she placed 183rd and finished at 21:47.7.Â
Junior Devon Sutton (219th) and first-year Grace Trimmer (224th) were the next two to finish. They both lowered their personal bests to 22:06.8 and 22:09.5, respectively. Sophomore Kaya Meler (253rd) and first-year Zoë Louis (260th) rounded out the scoring seven for Lehigh, finishing 22:30.6 and 22:34.9, respectively.Â
Elizabeth Jenulis led the pack for the Mountain Hawks in the open race. Her time of 22:48.1 was good for 82nd overall and a new personal best. First-year Mallory Sherrer was the next Lehigh finisher. She lowered her best 6k time by over a minute to 23:15.6, and placed 130th overall. Junior Aurora Wilson finished third for Lehigh and in 202nd place overall. Wilson's time of 23:52.3 was a big season best for her. First-year Katelyn Nolan (229th) and sophomore Chloe Brown (231st) finished together to round out Lehigh's top 5 in the open race. They finished at 24:15.2 and 24:16.5, respectively.
"I am very cautiously optimistic for the end of the season with the women's team," head coach Debbie Utesch explained. "We had some women that had absolutely outstanding performances. If we get all of those women firing at the highest levels at the end of the season, we're going to be a team to be reckoned with."
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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Villanova won the women's Gold Race, its seventh Paul Short title, with 110 points. This win elevated the Wildcats to sole possession of the most Paul Short team wins. Villanova passed Penn State and Georgetown, who also happened to be the second and third place team finishers. Georgetown did have the distinction of having the winning runner, as Melissa Riggins won the Gold Race with a time of 19:34.8. She separated from Elon's Katie Blount and Villanova's Margaret Caroll in the final stretch, finishing at 19:37.1 and 19:38.3, respectively.
Lehigh's top finisher was Kaitlyn Highduch, who placed 59th overall. The sophomore's 20:53.6 finish was not just a massive 40-second personal best, but it also vaulted her to fourth on Lehigh's Goodman Cross Country Course all-time record list.Â
Junior Grace Hughes secured second for Lehigh, placing 73rd overall. She set a new personal best by over a minute, running 21:03.7, which gave her the seventh place spot on Lehigh's Goodman Cross Country Course all-time record list. Senior Lucy Afanasewicz was the third Mountain Hawk to finish, she placed 183rd and finished at 21:47.7.Â
Junior Devon Sutton (219th) and first-year Grace Trimmer (224th) were the next two to finish. They both lowered their personal bests to 22:06.8 and 22:09.5, respectively. Sophomore Kaya Meler (253rd) and first-year Zoë Louis (260th) rounded out the scoring seven for Lehigh, finishing 22:30.6 and 22:34.9, respectively.Â
Elizabeth Jenulis led the pack for the Mountain Hawks in the open race. Her time of 22:48.1 was good for 82nd overall and a new personal best. First-year Mallory Sherrer was the next Lehigh finisher. She lowered her best 6k time by over a minute to 23:15.6, and placed 130th overall. Junior Aurora Wilson finished third for Lehigh and in 202nd place overall. Wilson's time of 23:52.3 was a big season best for her. First-year Katelyn Nolan (229th) and sophomore Chloe Brown (231st) finished together to round out Lehigh's top 5 in the open race. They finished at 24:15.2 and 24:16.5, respectively.
"I am very cautiously optimistic for the end of the season with the women's team," head coach Debbie Utesch explained. "We had some women that had absolutely outstanding performances. If we get all of those women firing at the highest levels at the end of the season, we're going to be a team to be reckoned with."
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
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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