UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State cross country team will travel to Lehigh to take part in the 49th Paul Short Run on Saturday, September 30. The Nittany Lion squads will run in the "Gold" division of college races, with the College Men's Gold 8K race set to go at 11 a.m. and the College Women's Gold 6K race to follow at 11:45 a.m.
In addition to Penn State's full teams, select Nittany Lions will compete in the men's open 8K race at 9:30 a.m. and the women's open 6K race at 10:15 a.m.
MEET INFO | Live Timing – Meet Program – Collegiate Team Entries
The Nittany Lions will return from their three-week break in good shape as they prepare for tough competition at Lehigh. Penn State's women's squad slots in at No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings and the men's squad coming in at No. 7 in the USTFCCCA's most recent polls. Penn State's women's group also received votes in the USTFCCCA's national coaches poll, and will seek to improve that standing against many regionally and nationally-ranked squads on Saturday.
PENN STATE OUTLOOK
Before the break, the Nittany Lions had an outstanding showing on their home course in the Spiked Shoe Invitational. Faith DeMars earned the overall win and led the women's group to a first-place finish in the event as the group secured four of the top five finishers in the race. The men's squad claimed third place behind a seventh-overall finish from Evan Dorenkamp.
Penn State's men's squad boasts four of the top ten finishers from last season's Paul Short Run Boys HS Brown 5K race. Brian DiCola, last year's Paul Short Run Champion, along with T.J. Roden (5th place), and Andrew McGonigle (8th place) will compete unattached for the Nittany Lions in their first collegiate cross country seasons.
THE PAUL SHORT RUN
Annually, the Paul Short Run is one of the largest cross country events in the nation. This season, Lehigh is set to welcome 450 college and high school teams, yielding 5,515 combined entries. Teams will be distributed between six scoring college races, four high school scoring races, and two open division races.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc). Live updates on race day regarding weather, start times, and other important notes will be posted on X.
