BETHLEHEM, PA - The men's and women's cross country team's competed in the 46^th Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University. The women finished eight out of 42 teams in the Brown 6K while on the men's side, the team finished 39^th out of 44 teams in the Gold 8K.
 
For the women, freshman Sammi Ragenklint (Tinton Falls, NJ / Monmouth Regional) led the Hawks individually, finishing with a time of 21:49.0, good enough for 22^nd overall out of 328 runners. Junior Alyssa Repsher (Easton, PA / Easton Area) finished only 14 seconds behind, placing 41^st. Senior Dayna Luma (Brick, NJ / Brick Memorial) finished third for the Hawks with a time of 22:25.8.
 
Sophomore Louis DiLaurenzio (Hazlet, NJ / Raritan) paced the Blue & White, finishing with a time of 24:56.2, placing 160^th out of 380. Senior Ryan Rafferty (Jackson, NJ / Jackson Memorial) finished 12 seconds later, placing 202^nd. Rounding out the top three for the Hawks was sophomore James Hoffman (Ocean Twp., NJ / Ocean), finishing with a time of 25:26.3.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
"Overall, I thought both teams competed well today. We talked beforehand about racing with poise and confidence. We knew the field was going to be huge and it can be easy to 'lose your cool' when surrounded by hundreds of other racers. We stuck with the plan and moved up gradually throughout the race. Lou and Sammi did a great job of leading us today but I was also very impressed with our depth. You need both front running and team depth to be successful in cross country and I like the direction we're headed."
-Monmouth head coach Mike Nelson
 
-The Paul Short Run is regarded as one of the largest and most competitive meets in the country each year.
-This year's event featured more than 130 college teams spread across six races.
-The men's Gold race featured top teams from around the nation, including nationally ranked Utah State.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-The men's top five average time of 25:19 is the best in school history, breaking the 2017 mark of 25:21.
-Ragenklint broke the Monmouth freshman record at the meet by 25 seconds.
-With an average time of 22:01, the women finished second in school history at Lehigh, only the 2016 team had a better average.
 
NEXT UP
-The Hawks will stay in-state as they will compete in the Princeton Invitational on October 19.