BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Penn State cross country placed both its men's and women's teams inside the top five overall at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh on Saturday. Evan Dorenkamp's overall win fueled a fifth-place finish for the men's team (203 pts) while the women's team claimed fourth overall (182 pts).
"Very nice win for Evan today over a good field," said Head Coach John Gondak. "We had great top-five finishes for both programs. We're excited to get back to work next week and prepare for Wisconsin!"
Dorenkamp became Penn State's third ever Men's College Gold Champion at the Paul Short Run, and is the team's first winner since Che Arosemena took the top spot in 1996.
MEN'S COLLEGE GOLD 8K RACE
Dorenkamp's win was the first of six Penn State PRs out of its top seven runners. The Nittany Lions took three of the top 36 spots in the race, with Dorenkamp coming in first out of 392 finishers.
Yale earned the team title, scoring 101 points. Wingate (123 pts), Stony Brook (159 pts), and Liberty (190 pts), slotted in above the Nittany Lions (203 pts) in the event. Penn State won the tiebreaker against Navy (203 pts) to earn the fifth spot.
Penn State Men's Top Seven Results:
Place (Points) Runner Time
1 (1) Evan Dorenkamp 23:53.7 PR
34 (34) Hayden Healey 24:36.1 PR
36 (36) Ryan Watson 24:37.1 PR
57 (57) Brendan Flynn 24:46.1 PR
76 (75) Behailu Bekele-Arcuri 24:55.0 PR
109 Chris DeSousa 25:08.5 PR
178 Brendan Colwell 25:38.3
WOMEN'S COLLEGE GOLD 6K RACE
Penn State placed three runners inside the top 35 out of 393 finishers, with Sophia Toti, Maddie Ullom, and Florence Caron leading the Nittany Lions to a fourth-place finish. PRs from Toti, Ullom, and sophomore Hayley Kitching fueled Penn State's top five, with freshman Claire Zubey and sophomore Lea Hatcher also earning personal-best marks in the race.
Utah Valley (77 pts) took the top spot, with Wake Forest (129 pts) and Boston (176 pts) finishing in the second and third positions before Penn State (182 pts) in the fourth slot.
Penn State Women's Top Seven Results:
Place (Points) Runner Time
16 (16) Sophia Toti 20:40.0 PR
21 (21) Maddie Ullom 20:50.8 PR
34 (34) Florence Caron 21:10.1
52 (52) Hayley Kitching 21:20.3 PR
59 (59) Makenna Krebs 21:25.7
77 Claire Zubey 21:33.3 PR
80 Lea Hatcher 21:34.6 PR
OPEN RACES
Beginning the day with the men's open 8K, Brian DiCola, competing unattached, finished second overall with a 24:19.3. T.J. Roden (25:19.8) and Andrew McGonigle (25:27.5) both also unattached, placed 29th and 38th, respectively, with Kevin Haas (25:40.1) coming in 49th overall.
In the women's open 6K, Sarah Pickering finished fourth overall with a 22:18.5 PR and Charlotte Costich placed eighth, posting a 22:30.3.
WHAT'S NEXT
Penn State will travel to Wisconsin for the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday, October 13 for its final regular season meet before the Big Ten Championships.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).
