Paul Short Run on Tap for Cross Country

Friday, September 29

Bethlehem, PA

11:00 AM

Rutgers University

Paul Short Run

Sep 28 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Meet Program Race Assignments Live Results Course Info Twitter

In its 44th year, the race is the largest intercollegiate cross country meet in the nation

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Rutgers men's and women's cross country returns to action for one of the staples of the cross country season, the 44^th annual Paul Short Run on Friday, Sept. 29 at Lehigh's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course. The men's 8,000-meter College Division Gold Race begins at 11:00 a.m., followed by the women's 6K College Gold Race at 11:45 a.m.

The Meet
The Paul Short Run is the largest intercollegiate cross country meet in the nation with approximately 6,000 athletes from nearly 450 colleges and high schools slated to compete this year. The day-long event includes 14 races (six college, six high school and two open races) beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The Course
The picturesque Goodman Campus Cross Country Course starts on the north end of Goodman Campus, adjacent to College Drive. The course accommodates four course distances and navigates through a beautiful landscape of cornfields, green space, wooded areas and campus scenery.

Regarded as one of the best in the Northeast region and the nation, the course has hosted three NCAA National Championship meets (1979, 1983, 1993) as well as numerous NCAA Regional Championships. The Goodman Campus is scheduled to host the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals again in 2017, 2019 and 2021.

The current (new) course is the second version of the Lehigh cross country course at Goodman Campus and has existed in its current layout since 1999.

The Men's Competition
The 2017 running of Paul Short features a deep and talented field from across the nation and all three NCAA divisions. Twenty-seven teams ranked in this week's USTFCCCA national polls will be represented at this year's meet, including Georgetown, the Mid-Atlantic's top ranked men's team (No. 17 nationally), along with nationally-ranked Iona (10) and Columbia (28).

Four of the five power conferences will be represented at Paul Short this year including the Southeastern Conference (Georgia, Miss. St.), Big 10 (Rutgers), Atlantic Coast (Georgia Tech), and the Pac 12 (Arizona). Utah State from the Mountain West will be on hand as well, plus two schools from Canada.

The Women's Competition
Rutgers will be one of 43 teams competing in the Gold Race, which includes nationally-ranked Villanova (15), Utah State (21), Georgetown (23) and Mississippi State (24) along with regionally-ranked teams from Princeton and Penn and 2015 NCAA Division II national champion Adams State from Colorado.

The Scarlet Knights are familiar with the course having opened the year at the Lehigh Invitational back on Sept. 1. In the race, sophomores Nadia Saponara (22:16.68) and Emma Bergman (22:23.61) both finished among the top 10 with new personal bests.

Last year at the Paul Short, Allyson Black was the top Scarlet Knight finisher (22:18), while Berman picked up one of the top times of her career (22:24).

The Expectations

Men's Head Coach Mike Mulqueen: "The guys are looking forward to this race. There are teams coming from all over the country. Our goal is to be in the top half of all competing teams."

Women's Head Coach James Robinson: "Paul Short is one of the biggest cross country competitions in the nation. There are many nationally-ranked teams participating and we purpose to finish in the top half of our 43 team race."

Rutgers Men - The Last Time Out
The last time at Lehigh's Goodman Campus, a preview of the 2017 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships course, Rutgers' men's squad won the Lehigh Invitational to kick off the 2017 season on Sept. 1 in a 6,000-meter race. Rutgers sophomore Cole Pschunder was first across for the Scarlet Knights in 18:38.20, and second overall by merely two-tenths of a second.

In Rutgers' last race, the Scarlet Knights placed third of six teams at the Rider Invitational on the 8,000-meter course at Rosedale Park. With all five Rutgers point scorers in the top 20, the Scarlet Knights scored 65 points. Junior Dom Munson led Rutgers for the first time this season, crossing the line in sixth place overall out of 79 harriers with a time of 25:07.11, his fastest 8K of the season.

Rutgers Women - The Last Time Out
In Rutgers' last race, the Scarlet Knights produced several notable results as two freshmen runners collected sub-19 minute times and four personal bests were set from returning Scarlet Knights at the Coast-To-Coast Battle in Beantown 5K hosted by Boston College. The competition field included 179 competitors from 22 schools, including four teams ranked among the top 30 in the USTFCCA Poll.

Freshman Olympia Martin was the first Scarlet Knight across the finish line (18:33) for the second-straight race this season, closely followed by fellow Scarlet Knight first-year, Kiera Nealon (18:56). Personal bests were also collected by sophomore Emma Bergman (19:04), sophomore Stephanie Mauer (19:23), junior Genevieve Cickavage (19:33) and sophomore Lou Mialhe (19:54). Addtionally
senior Alexandra Juzwiak put in her best 5K performance (19:12) since her freshman season.

The Rank
The men have been ranked 12th in the Mid-Atlantic by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the third regional rankings of the 2017 season released on Sept. 25. Rutgers reached as high as No. 10 this season in the Sept. 11 rankings.

The Squad
In 2016 on the men's side, junior Conor Murphy led the Scarlet Knights in five of seven meets, including all of championship season. Murphy paced the team in the Big Ten, NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and IC4A meets, highlighted by an All-University East Performer award at the IC4A Championships.

Junior Dom Munson joined Murphy on the All-University East Performer list following a 17th place finish at the IC4A Championships. Munson led the Scarlet Knights with a sixth-place individual time of 24:57.07 at the Rider Invitational early last season. Seniors Alexander Livernois and Trent Brinkofski were also on the All-University East Performer accolades at IC4A's, and head into their final season in Scarlet.

Brinkofski was honored twice as a junior by the Big Ten as a recipient of the Sportsmanship Award and as an Athlete of the Week following his fifth place finish at the Metropolitan Championships in October.

Mulqueen welcomes five newcomers to the Scarlet Knights this fall, including four freshmen. Billy Hill, Tom Holster and Patrick Walsh are all rookies coming off All-State senior high school seasons. Walsh was also a Group 1 cross country champion. Genaro Anzalone was named an All-American last fall at Christian Brothers Academy, and sophomore Sean Martinek joins the team this year with experience as a Non-Public A State indoor champion in the 800-meter.

The Rutgers women, meanwhile, boast a youthful roster with 11 of the 17 members of the Scarlet Knight roster listed as either freshmen or sophomores.

Among RU's top experienced runners is senior Alexandra Juzwiak, who led Rutgers at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional in 2016.

Olympia Martin highlights the freshmen class having won the 2016 NJSIAA Championship.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's and women's cross country, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgers_MensTF @Rutgers_WomenTF). The teams are also on Facebook (facebook.com/ RutgersMensTF/ & facebook.com/RutgersWomensTF).

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