Lehigh hosted the 35th annual Lehigh University Brooks Paul Short Run on Friday on the Goodman Campus and both Mountain Hawk genders put forth strong showings as the men finished 15th out of 45 teams and the women placed 17th out of 43 entries.  Senior Jon Wetzel led Lehigh’s men with a time of 24:44, which put him in 51st place overall, while classmate Shannon Alejandro led the women and finished 49th overall with a time of 21:34.  Wisconsin won the team crown on the men’s side with 52 points, followed by Syracuse, Villanova, Iona and Cornell, while in the women’s race, West Virginia took first place with 47 points and Villanova, Baylor, Wisconsin and Syracuse rounded out the top-five.

Dave Welsh’s first experience with the Paul Short Run was as a freshman track and field athlete. He wasn’t running in the race, just observing and working with Lehigh’s sports medicine and facilities staffs to keep one of the largest cross country meets in the nation running smoothly at all times. Welsh was not prepared for what he thought was just a little cross country meet taking place at his school. He would quickly learn just how big of a deal the Paul Short Run really is.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams appear in this week’s USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Poll, which were announced on Monday. The Lehigh men moved up three spots to No. 10 in the rankings, while the Lehigh women made their first appearance at No. 15.

Don’t miss the latest episode of the Lehigh Sports Magazine, which premieres Monday, September 29 on WFMZ-TV (channel 69) and Lehighsports.com. Appearing this week on the show are men’s and women’s cross country coaches, Debbie Utesch and Todd Etters. They will be discussing the season thus far as well as preview this Friday’s nationally known Paul Short Run held at Goodman Campus.

The field has been finalized for the 35th annual Lehigh University Brooks Paul Short Run on Friday, October 3.  This year, more than 4,000 runners will compete from more than 300 high schools and colleges around the country.  Several teams are ranked in the national polls from Divisions I-III and even more are listed in the regional rankings, making this event one of the most prestigious cross country races in the country.