The Binghamton University men’s and women’s cross country teams made their way down to Bethlehem, Penn. Friday to take part in the 38th annual Paul Short Run at Lehigh University.
The men’s squad placed second of 46 participating teams in the Brown Race. The women’s squad placed 39th out of 45 teams in the Gold Race.
“Both teams had some good performances,” Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff said. “We have a lot of work to do in the next month before the America East championships.”
Binghamton native and junior Vasili Papastrat led the Bearcats in the 8K, placing 15th out of 282 runners with a time of 26:05.
Acuff said Papastrat’s outing was likely “his best collegiate performance yet.”
Junior Jason Santos placed 25th (26:12), followed by sophomore Chris Fernandez, who finished in 39th (26:26). Next came junior Anthony Gaetani who finished 51st (26:35), while freshman Cal Michaels crossed the line at 74th (26:51).
Team scoring was determined by adding the total finishing places of each runner.
The men finished with a total of 204 points, which was good for runner-up.
Cross country powerhouse Iona College took first with 125 points. The Gaels, runner-ups at the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Men’s Cross Country National Championship, are currently ranked No. 5 by the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Colgate University’s Christopher Johnson finished the race at No. 1 overall, matching his own school record with a time of 25:19.
On the women’s side, last year’s team MVP and current junior Lindsay Raulli finished the 6K on top for BU with a 166th-place finish overall (22:51). Raulli was followed by sophomore Caitlin Jelinek at 179th (22:59) and junior Rachel Miura at 187th (23:03).
The Bearcat women, who competed against a slew of USTFCCCA nationally ranked opponents, finished with a total of 1,002 points. The Division I opposing powers included two-time defending NCAA National Champions Villanova University (No. 5), Georgetown University (No. 1), Duke University (No. 9), Syracuse University (No. 12) and Friday’s team champion Providence College (No. 3). Villanova senior and four-time All-American Bogdana Mimic took first place overall in the competition.
Looking ahead toward the remainder of this season, Acuff said, “I’m very excited about our potential.”
The Bearcats will continue their season Oct. 15 when they are set to compete at the 45th Annual Albany Invitational, in Albany, N.Y.