Cross Country Gearing Up for 42nd Annual Lehigh Paul Short Invitational
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
BUFFALO, NY – After a week off from competition, the men's and women's cross country teams return to action as they travel to Bethlehem, PA for the 42nd annual Lehigh Paul Short Invitational on Friday. Participation in this invitational pits top Division I, II, and III teams from around the nation who are ranked both regionally and nationally.
While the event lasts almost all day Friday, UB runners will compete in two different races, the men's and women's gold and open race. The top 10 runners from each Bulls squad will compete in the gold race with the remaining squad competing in the open race. At this event the men will run an 8K, while the women will run a 6K.
Last year's Paul Short Invitational for the men was successful with five runners posting top ten all-time times in school history. Senior Cameron Bruce ran 24:30 last year, which is second-best all-time for any University at Buffalo runner and is only seven seconds behind Dan McKenna's top time that was run in 2005.
On the women's side three top-10 times were run last year with Corrine Birchard leading the way with a mark of 21:30, which sits tied for fifth on the all-time list with Jen Jezorski's 2004 race.
The University at Buffalo men's team is ranked 15th in the northeast region. Both teams will use the experience from facing high quality and elite teams from not only the region but the nation as they prepare for both pre-nationals and MAC Championships later this month. Pre-nationals at the Louisville University is a new event that the Bulls have never competed in before and the MAC Championships are being run on a new course this season.
The open men's race begins at 9:30 am and the men's gold race is scheduled to start at 11 am. On the women's side the open race begins at 10:15 am, while the women's gold race kicks off at 11:45 am.
Fans are encouraged to follow @LehighPaulShort on Twitter and paulshortxcrun.com for the latest results and times throughout the day.
