Lehighsports.com

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Evan Flach was named the Patriot League Male Runner of the Week on Tuesday, as announced by the league office. Flach finished first overall at the Lehigh Invitational on September 3, pacing a field of 99 runners with a time of 18:36.0. Flach’s finish helped the Mountain Hawks place first out of eight teams at the event.

The Airmont, N.Y. native smashed his 2009 Lehigh Invitational time by 22 seconds and crossed the finish nine seconds ahead of Rider’s Christian Gonzalez, who placed 27th in the region in 2009. Flach was one of five Lehigh runners to finish in the top-10, including freshmen Tyler Mueller and Jimmy Miller, senior Steve Sample and sophomore Lyle O’Brien.

"Flach looked really strong out there," Lehigh head coach Todd Etters said after the event. "He really took off at the 4K mark in the race. I’m expecting big things out of him this year."

The Mountain Hawks completed the invitational with a team score of 25, finishing well ahead of second-place Rider (72) and third-place Muhlenberg (89). Lafayette took fourth, DeSales placed fifth, Widener finished sixth and Moravian and Kutztown took seventh and eighth, respectively.

Flach and the rest of the Mountain Hawks will be back in action on September 18 when they travel to the Bronx, N.Y. for the Iona Meet of Champions. The men’s race is scheduled to start at 10:15 a.m.