Oct. 5, 2013
Women's Results | Men's Results
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Both the Penn State men's and women's cross country teams posted top-10 finishes at the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University, Saturday afternoon. The women's squad secured a ninth-place outing, while the men's team placed 10th.
"We had some great front runners individually, specifically Matt Fischer on the men's side with a top-25 finish and Leigha Anderson on the women's side," said Beth Alford-Sullivan, director and head coach of the track & field/cross country programs. "It was an extremely competitive competition and a tough race. We had some trouble with the heat, but it was a good race for our runners who haven't competed yet. We look forward to getting back on the starting line in two weeks."
Junior Leigha Anderson (Carlisle, Pa.) paced the women's contingent, crossing the finish line in 21:07 for a 30th-place finish. Classmate Katie Rodden (Ardmore, Pa.), who crossed the finish line in 21:30, placed 63rd overall, while senior Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.) finished three seconds behind her teammate. Sophomore Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa./21:36) and freshman Stephanie Aldrich (West Chester, Pa./21:45) rounded out Penn State's scoring five.
The Nittany Lions recorded 326 points, good for a ninth-place finish. Georgetown captured the women's title with 112 points.
On the men's side, all five scoring Nittany Lions finished within 1:15 of each other. Junior Matt Fischer (Kennett Square, Pa./24:32) paced Penn State with a 23rd-place finish, while sophomore Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) crossed the finish line in 24:47. After classmate Wade Endress (Altoona, Pa.) completed the course 11 seconds later, freshmen Conner Quinn (Horsham, Pa./25:34) and Nick Scarpello (Jamison, Pa./25:47) rounded out the top five.
Penn State finished in 10th place with 406 points, while Indiana secured a first-place finish with 89 points.
The Nittany Lions will return to action in two weekends when they compete at the Penn State National (Oct. 18) and Pre-National Invitational (Oct. 19).
Women's Top Results:
30. Leigha Anderson (21:07)
63. Katie Rodden (21:30)
69. Marta Klebe (21:33)
72. Tori Gerlach (21:36)
92. Stephanie Aldrich (21:45)
Men's Top Results:
23. Matt Fischer (24:32)
45. Robby Creese (24:47)
60. Wade Endress (24:58)
123. Conner Quinn (25:34)
155. Nick Scarpello (25:47)