Men's Results / Women's Results
Bethlehem, PA – On Friday afternoon, both the mens' and women's cross country teams took part in the 39th Annual Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University. The men were pitted against some of the top Division I teams on the east coast in the Gold Race while the women competed in the Brown Race against nationally ranked division II and II schools and some mid-major Division I institutions. There were over 5,000 runners that competed among the many races on the day and featured a combine 400 teams between colleges and high schools.
The women were led by junior Elizabeth Eickelberg who set a huge personal best, cutting her 6k time down by over a minute to 22:45 which was good enough for 25th. 20 seconds back was teammate Jacqueline Kaste who also set a personal best by over 30 seconds on the day. Her time of 23:05 placed her 42nd.
The sophomore duo of Jennifer McNally and Larissa Melendez have been finishing races within 10 seconds of each other all year so far, and today was no different. McNally clocked in at 23:21, good enough for 60th while Melendez was just eight second and six spots behind. Both women also set personal bests in the process.
Freshman Kristina Coiro gave the Panthers five runners in the top-85 and all under 24 minutes. She placed 82nd and recorded a time of 23:41.
The Panthers fared exceptionally well among the field of 382 runners and 39 teams. They put together 275 points which placed them fifth overall behind race winners University of Pittsburg, University of Rhode Island, Princeton and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, they beat out nationally ranked teams # 16 Bloomsburg and #25 Kutztown.
“After looking at last year's competition, we wanted to break into the top-8 and we accomplished just that,” said Head Coach Katie Rees. “Our fifth runner, Kristina, ran over 30 seconds faster than our top girl ran last year! It shows a ton of improvement and I'm happy with the progress all of the girls have been making so far.”
Coelho led the men for the second straight week with a time of 24:38 On the men's side, senior Andrew Coelho led the way for the second straight week. He bested his time from a year ago by over a minute and covered the eight kilometer course in 24:38 which placed him in 28th. He was the third division II runner to cross the finish line and just seven seconds behind Alex Monroe of Lock Haven and Jeff Veiga of UMass Lowell.
Freshman Matthew Moody chopped 22 seconds off of his previous personal best and was the second harrier to cross the line. His time of 26:37 earned him a 215th place finish in the loaded field. Teammate David DeSalvo was right on Moody's heels, breaking the tape just three seconds and one place behind.
Willam Marois came up big for the Panthers, obliterating his previous best 8k time by nearly a full minute. The Shenendehowa product broke the 27 minute barrier for the first time with a mark of 26:47. Gregory Bader was Adelphi's number five man in 26:52 while sophomore James Panetta was just one second back.
As a team, the men finished in 36th place on the day in the deep field.
“The men's times were slightly skewed given the soft, muddy course due to the rain,” stated Rees. “Overall, the bulk of the team ran much faster than last year which is a great sign.”
The Panthers will hibernate for three weeks before going up against the rest of the conference in the Northeast-10 Championships on Saturday, October 20 in Syracuse, N.Y.
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