On Saturday, September 29, Lehigh hosted the 44th annual Paul Short Run, which attracts thousands of runners from universities across the country. This race has grown to be one of the largest annual cross country meets in the nation. It was created to honor Paul E. Short, who attended Lehigh and played four sports while he was there, including football, wrestling, baseball and lacrosse. He received countless awards and recognition for his outstanding athletic career at Lehigh. Short received a degree in business administration and quickly found his way back to Lehigh to coach for various sports teams and serve as a Business Manager and Assistant Director of Athletics. Short had always been a big fan of the Lehigh track and cross country teams. Shortly after he died, a new cross country meet was being developed and was named after Short. 

The first race took place in 1969 with seven men’s teams competing, with the

competition opening to women’s teams in 1981. The meet has grown over the years and now it features 14 races, with six college races, six high school races and two open races for men and women. There has been a wide range of champions at this event such as Villanova and Penn State on the men’s side and Princeton and Georgetown on the women’s side. This year, the Paul Short Run hosted 6,000 athletes from around 450

colleges and high schools.

The Colgate women’s cross country team had an outstanding performance on Friday at the race. Sophomore Vicky Martinez shone for the Raiders, finishing in 20th overall place. She has been a standout runner from the beginning of her Colgate career. Furthermore, she finished with her second fastest time in a 6K collegiate race and as the fourth fastest Patriot League Runner at a time of 22:13.

 The Raiders finished in 15th place, with 412 points and an average time of 23:33, out of the 24 Division 1 teams who competed in the race. First-year Elizabeth Timoney had a standout performance, finishing just after Martinez at a time of 22:59, her fastest 6K time out of the two this year. Following in third place was Ashley de Hechavarria, who came in 23:59, finishing 105th overall.

Other stars included senior captain Tina Bowers, who came in fourth for Colgate and 109th overall with a time of 24:09; this was her third fastest 6K time in her career. Junior Caroline Zaworski rounded out Colgate’s top five finishers with a time of 24:24. Everyone came out ready for the big day and their zeal to succeed was reflected in the team’s many successes.

“Overall the women’s cross country team had a really strong performance at Paul Short and competed well against the field. Conditions were slow but the girls really gutted it out and had some great performances. With Patriots coming up we  are excited to taper down and see the results of our hard work,” de Hechavarria said.

The Raiders have some time off before their final race of the season at the Albany Invite hosted by UAlbany on October 14. Players report they are training hard for this event and are excited to compete again soon.  

Contact Kate Kelly at [email protected].